How the Story Ends
by Fanfiction Bard
Summary: The Black Mage is rising after his defeat centuries ago. His armies and commanders are returning, but so are his enemies. Can a young farmboy with a great destiny and a dragon who is the last of his kind find the courage to destroy this evil once and for all?
1. Prologue

**This is a story that I've been working on for quite some time. I think Maplestory is great, fantasy wise, and I like the idea of this story. However, there are a few other stories that have a similar plot: Evan and the Heroes meet, defeat the Black Mage, live happily ever after. My story basically has the same plot, except I'll try to add more realism to the Maplestory universe and its characters. I'll try to make it more "real life" if you know what I mean.**

**Also, it's been a while since I've played the game, and I just don't have the time to play a bunch of different characters. So, the info on the Maplestory universe and its mythology I can't get from YouTube walkthroughs and the Wiki site, I'll be taking creative liberties for.**

**FUTURE COUPLES ALERT: Evan/Mercedes, Luminous/ Lania, Phantom/Aria**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maplestory in any way.**

PROLOGUE

Freud limped over to the altar at the center of the room, most of his remaining strength already gone. Leaning on his staff for support, he was a pitiful sight to see, robes burned, his hair singed and painted with wet crimson, and a pool of blood trailing him. Discarding his staff, he finally dropped to the ground, and onto the steps leading to the altar. Von Leon's claws had left a nasty wound on his left lower abdomen, his blood escaping from his scars as if chased by a monster.

He knew he was dying. Even though Freud knew a plethora of healing spells, this was no ordinary wound. Von Leon was a monster, possessed by the demon Marbas. And a simple prick from one of his razor sharp claws would be beyond even the most powerful healing spell.

Though Freud was weakening by the second, he somehow found the strength to cry out in rage and pain.

It wasn't supposed to end like this. They were supposed to defeat the Black Mage once and for all, and come out of it alive. Instead, they simply managed to imprison the monster and his commanders, both of their armies wiped out completely, and the Five Heroes were entombed by a horrible curse. Trapped in ice, cut off from the world, scattered throughout the Maple World, and frozen in time for all eternity.

They didn't deserve that. They were willing to lay down their lives to keep this world safe, but what they suffered was a worse fate than death.

A fate that Freud himself _should_ have suffered. He hated Afrien for taking the curse for him. That should've been _him_! Freud made Afrien promise that he wouldn't try to risk his life for him, but the King of Onyx Dragons, curse him, was far too selfless. For love of his friend, Afrien took the curse and damned himself to the Ices of Time.

Freud knew that his friends' sacrifice was in vain. The magics that held the Black mage would not last forever, and when he broke free, the Heroes would not be there to-

_Wait a damn second_.

Freud just remembered something. How could he be so stupid!? He was in the _Temple of Time_ for the gods' sake! Powers incomprehensible to even a powerful mage such as himself existed here. The Black Mage used the Temple's power to make the Ices of Time Curse, and Freud could use its power to break it.

Freud mustered the last bit of strength he had, and crawled closer to the altar. He managed channeled what little magic he had left. With his injury, casting spells was painful, like having a fire lit in his gut. If he had the strength, he would scream in pain.

But the pain would be worth it if he could use enough magic to tap into the Temple's power.

The pain was spreading to Freud's lungs, making it excruciating just to breathe, but the pain was interrupted when he felt his magic touch the Temple's power.

_Finally_

Freud then chanted in the Dragon-tongue. A language that was almost dead to most of the Maple World, but revitalized when he met Afrien. Freud spoke an incantation that would free his friends when the Black Mage's prison begins to fail, and to send Afrien's hidden egg to a place and time when a new Dragon Master would be chosen. When someone worthy could make the Spirit Pact, and join forces with the Heroes to rid the Maple World of the Black Mage forever.

There. The easy part was done. Using power from the Temple of Time had a steep price. It required a soul. A soul that would spend the rest of eternity being a Guardian of the Temple.

_Let this be my atonement for failing my fellow Heroes and Afrien._

With his shaking hand, the Mage withdrew a small knife from his belt…

_He remembered being a small boy being told stories of heroes and adventurers…_

_…when he went to Orbis and studied magic with the Faerie mages…_

_…when he traveled to Leafre to study dragons…_

…with his last once of strength…

_…when he met Afrien after the dragon saved his life from being devoured by a swarm of wyverns…_

_…when he and Afrien and made the Spirit Pact…_

_…when he and Afrien took their first flight together…_

…he brought the blade up to his throat…

_…when he met Luminous, Aran, Mercedes, and Phantom…_

_…when he cried out in anguish, hurt, and self-loathing once Afrien took the Ice of Time Curse for him._

…And he felt the cold metal slice into his soft flesh, blood dribbling down his robes, into his lungs, and dripping down from his mouth. The pain was fleeting, and not as bad as he thought it would be. Maybe it was just small compared to the other pains he felt throughout his life.

_I have done my part…_

Surprisingly to himself, he had a grin on his scarred and bruised face as his dying body disappeared in a flash of blue light.

…_now the rest is up to fate._

**So here is the first chapter! I hope you liked it. I already have the first few chapters mostly written, so they'll be coming fast. But I won't be able to update that often due to a Once Upon a Time fanfic I'm writing. Now, if you ANY comments at all, then please review! It's the reader's reviews that keep stories going!**


	2. Chapter 1: The Dream

**I'd like to thank wormble3 and Bombing for being the first to review!**

**wormble3- I'm glad you like it so far! Nothing really happened yet, but I've got big plans for this!**

**Bombing- Your feedback means a lot to me! I'm trying to make the Maplestory Universe into a more realistic place and clean up much of its plotline. I'm really excited to write this, because I'm a NUT for fantasy!**

CHAPTER 1: THE DREAM

_Evan walked through the forest, his stride careful, and his vision clouded by dense mists. Strange, glowing symbols carved onto boulders. Moss covered logs and wide trunked trees populated the forest, and seemed to go on for miles._

_"_He is returning…_"_

_"Hello?" Evan asked carefully._

_"_They are waking…_"_

_"Who's there?" Evan asked to the empty air, his voice shaking slightly. Was this person, or whatever they were, going to help him? Was it just someone else lost like him? Or was Evan falling into a trap, a predator waiting for the prey?_

_"_The Pact…_"_

What is this guy talking about?_ Evan wondered. _Who is "he" and "they", and what "pact"? Is there a crazy guy on the loose or something?

_Evan took some time to focus not on the strange, disembodied voice, but on the environment around him. He didn't even know a place like this existed…wherever the hell he was now._

_"_You who are seeking a Pact…_"_

_"Who's there?" Evan asked, with less fear and more defiance in his voice. The voice was louder now. Closer. It came from behind a couple of bushes. With a combination of fear and trepidation, Evan approached the bushes and pushed them out of the way, and looked to see the owner of the eerie voice._

_Evan couldn't believe his eyes._

_Curled up in the center of a clearing was a dragon._

_A REAL, LIVING DRAGON._

_With surprising boldness, Evan stepped closer to the creature to take a closer look. The dragon's scaly hide was a dark shade of purplish-blue, golden claws, and long, golden horns protruding from the back of its head. Its eyes were closed, which meant it was sleeping, thank the gods, and its massive wings were folded against its equally large body. On the dragon's snout, was a strange symbol, glowing golden with power._

_Evan had only heard stories about such creatures. How their majestic beauty was only rivaled by their sheer power. He heard legends of people who worked with dragons and have done great things, and brave warriors that fought dragons gone mad._

_Utah must be right when he said his little brother had no common sense, because Evan began to step closer to the beast, enraptured by its presence. He just couldn't help it. There was something about the dragon that was beautiful yet terrible at the same time. He was so mesmerized, he wanted to touch it. Evan lifted his hand to the dragon's side, and felt the smooth, yet hard and scaly surface of its torso._

_Suddenly, the dragon opened its eyes, and got up at frightening speed. Evan fell over on his back, frozen with absolute fear. He would have ran, he would have curled up into a ball and cried for his mother, but he couldn't. He was just too petrified._

_His entire life flashed before his eyes. He would never see his family again. He would never hear his mother scold him, he would never listen to his father grumble about the weather or how little money they had, and he would never be able to annoy his brother again, vice versa._

_Evan expected the dragon to open its mouth and make him disappear forever in a blazing inferno. True enough, the dragon did open its mouth, but instead, it spoke._

_"_You, who are destined to be the Dragon Master…_"_

_He was expecting something less…surprising and a lot more…painful._

_"_You have finally arrived._"_

_"Uhhh…" Evan's voice quivered. What on earth was this monster talking about? Destiny? Dragon Master? The creature spoke as if Evan should know what he was talking about._

_"_Go and fulfill your duties as Dragon Master…_" The dragon's voice was deep, rich, and commanding, almost like a king's voice. What duties was it talking about? The only duties he had was feeding the pigs and running errands in town. And the penalty was far worse than being eaten by a dragon or incinerated. He would have to clean the pig's pen, which was always swimming with manure._

_Suddenly, everything began to fade to black. Evan's perception on this strange place began to fade away, as if the entire forest was a bird that landed on Evan's shoulder, and was now flying away. The last thing he heard before it all went black was, "_Carry out the terms of the agreement._"_

Suddenly, Evan woke up in a cold sweat, expecting a dragon to be in his room or a mysterious wizard to pop out of nowhere. Instead, he was half strangled by the sheets and just an inch away from falling out of bed.

"Oh good." The fourteen year old sighed in relief. The whole thing was just a dream. There was no psychotic dragon messing with his head, no eerie forest filled with mists and weird rocks. Running his fingers through his dark brown hair, Evan pulled the sheets off of him. But there was one thing that caught his eye, something _waaay_ out of the ordinary. Something that would make a dragon or wizard seem normal.

There was a strange symbol on the back of his right hand. It looked like a tattoo, but Evan _definitely _remembers never getting one. His mother and father would wear out their vocal cords screaming at him if he ever got one. But that wasn't what scared Evan. What made his flesh crawl was that the symbol looked _exactly _like the one in his dream, carved on the rocks, on the dragon's snout.

_Okay, now this is really freaky_. But his thoughts were interrupted by his brother calling him.

"Evan!" Utah called. "Evan, wake up! I know you're up there, I can hear ya bein' lazy up there!" Evan rolled his eyes at his older brother's insults, but he never got angry at him, just amused. Busting each other's chops was a little habit they came up with since Evan was able to speak. It was their way of communicating. They would poke fun at each other, and then Utah would give his "baby bro" (his idea of an endearment) a merciless noogie. But fortunately for Evan, he was just as tall as his brother now, which annoyed Utah to no end, so he would be able to fight back.

Evan quickly got some fresh cloths on, an orange t-shirt and jeans. He was about to get downstairs, until he remembered the tattoo. Utah would likely blackmail Evan if he saw the tattoo, and he would never survive if either of his parents found out. So, Evan quickly put on some fingerless gloves. He'd just say that he didn't want to get scratches on his hands when he went to feed the dog. That little bastard bit like a rabid wolf.

"'Bout time, baby bro. The sandman must have a crush on you." Utah said with his trademark obnoxious smile. Utah and Evan had near similar facial features, and the same dark brown hair, but Utah had his mother's hazel eyes, while Evan had their father's light blue eyes. They were about the same build, years of manual labor making them both lean, and they had a slight tan that would come from working on sunny days. Being three years older, Utah was taller, but just by half an inch. Evan was still growing, and always teased Utah that he stopped growing a long time ago. Sometimes Evan would even say that his older brother was shrinking, earning the younger brother a noogie.

Utah was sitting at the table, gulping down orange juice. Their mother, Anna, was by the stove, stirring a pot of porridge.

"Morning, sweetheart." His mother smiled at him.

"Morning mom." Evan hadn't noticed it, but his mere voice betrayed how tired he was. The dream he had didn't exactly give him a good night's sleep.

"Did you sleep alright, Evan?" Anna's brow knitted in concern as she saw how tired he looked. Evan considered telling her mother about the dream, but perished the idea as fast as it came. If Utah heard about the dream, his little brother would never hear the end of it. So he just said "Not really", and shrugged the question off.

"Was it the storm?" His mother asked. Evan was so caught up in his dream that he didn't even remember that there _was_ a storm last night.

"I guess." He said simply. Evan sat down on the chair across from Utah's.

After breakfast, the two brothers walked outside.

"It's a bit too bad you didn't get much sleep, little bro. Dad gave you a _special_ assignment today!" Utah said, grinning.

"What now? One of the pigs acting crazy? Did the dog piss on the porch again?" Nothing Evan couldn't handle.

"Nope! This time Lee ran away."

"Again?" Evan groaned. The piglets were a handful, but there was one piglet Utah named Lee, that always managed to get himself out of his pen. How he did it was still a mystery to the farmers. Utah tried on several accounts to sell the piglet, but no one was interested in a pig that small.

"Again." Utah answered smugly. "And guess who has the honor of escorting him back home?" He announced it like Evan had just won a million mesos.

"Why can't you do it? You're the older one. Aren't you responsible enough?" Evan asked teasingly.

"Of course I'm responsible." Utah threw his nose into the air haughtily. "But you know, I have to feed the pigs, feed the dog, milk the cow, all that jazz. Finding Lee, all the annoying, pointless grunt work, is your job."

"What's the matter bro? Afraid Lee ran into the woods? Is the big bad older brother afraid of a few trees?"

"Of course not!" Utah huffed. "I fear nothing!"

"There's a fox right behind you."

"AHHHHH!"

**As I've said, I have most of the first chapters written, so the updates should be pretty fast.**

**Don't forget to review!**


	3. Chapter 2: The Egg

**I know that I'm updating wicked fast, but I can't help it! I'm just so excited to read your feedback, but I can't get your feedback without REVIEWS, so please, REVIEW!**

CHAPTER 2: THE EGG

_Six years ago_

A young girl skipped merrily through the forest, admiring how beautiful the trees looked in the summer climate. She was rather short, no taller than five feet, with unkempt blond hair. She wore simple clothes, shoes, and a red ribbon around her neck done into a bow. Penny always had to tell her verbally what to do, the talking cat not having opposable thumbs and all.

Despite that, Penny had raised Lania for as long as she could remember. The cat told her that her parents one day left for the market and just never came back. They both could only guess what happened. Penny presumed the worst, although she never said so, for the child's sake. Ever since then, Penny had fed Lania, taught Lania, and took care of her like she was her own kitten. In fact, that was Penny's name for the girl, "her little kit."

Today, Lania was planning on going to climb that enormous tree not a quarter mile from her home. She just loved to climb trees. Reaching the top gave her a rush like no other, made her feel like one of the heroes from the stories Penny told her.

She was about to look for a suitably low branch on the tree to start her climb, until she heard a moan. It wasn't the ghostly moan she would make when she was trying to scare Penny, or vice versa. No, this moan sounded like a pained one.

"Penny?" Lania asked to open air.

No answer.

"Penny, if it's you, you're not scaring me," the girl lied. She was answered by more moaning.

Lania carefully walked towards where she heard the moaning. It came from behind a nearby tree, one that she had tried to climb a few years ago, but ended up with a scraped knee. Penny never let the girl live that one down.

Picking up a stick that was light enough to carry, yet heavy enough to leave a lasting mark on someone's head, Lania moved towards the sound with a bit more confidence, only to drop the stick when she found the culprit of the noise.

Lying with his head at the base of the tree was a young man in pure white robes with a golden trim. He wore leather boots, leather fingerless gauntlets, and a fair amount of jewelry that told he was wealthy. An amethyst pendent hung around his neck, two rings on each hand, and a gold earring on his left ear. Although he looked as if he was no older than twenty, his hair was whitish gray.

Lania walked over to the unconscious man, and gently shook him by the shoulder. "Sir? Sir? Wake up."

The man groaned and opened his eyes, as if he hadn't slept for a week and was being woken up from a long anticipated slumber. Lania saw that his left eye was as grey as his hair, but his right eye was bloodred.

"Did we beat him?" The man asked. Despite his weakened state, there was fierce determination in his eyes, aching to know if they beat "him". Whoever "he" was.

"Beat who?" Lania asked, confused.

"The Black Mage, of course." The man said impatiently.

"The Black Mage? I heard about him, in stories. He's not supposed to be real, though."

"What?" The man seemed to be in some kind of distress. He slowly got up, his impressive height towering above the small girl. "Where are the others?"

"What others?"

"The other Heroes. The ones who helped stop the Black Mage."

"Uhhh…" Lania didn't know what to tell this strange man. "I'm pretty sure they're myths too."

The man turned away, looking like he was deep in thought. He started to pace away, but winced and fell down as he felt a sharp pain in his thigh.

"Are you okay?" Lania asked, concerned.

"I'm fine-" The man tried to get up again, only to fall down again.

"We can take you to my house. Penny can help you."

"Where are your parents? Are you alone?"

"I don't know where they are. Penny's been taking care of me as long as I could remember." The man's stoic expression betrayed a fair amount of sympathy.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"That's okay." Lania smiled at him. "Come on. Penny can fix you."

The man looked like he was going to protest, but for some reason decided against it.

"My name's Lania. What's yours?" The girl asked as she found the man a stick nearby for him to use as a cane.

"Luminous."

* * *

_Present day_

"I swear, when I find that damn pig, I'll make bacon out of him and throw him to the foxes!" Evan trudged through the fields, trying to get to the lush forest that bordered most of the farm. He adjusted his straw hat to keep the rays of the sun out of his eyes.

His father told him that the piglet had run towards the forest, although Evan could never imagine what would have possessed the little monster to go there. All the pigs avoided the forest, whatever the cost.

"Here, Lee! Come on out, Lee! Where are you, you little-AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The next thing he knew, Evan was falling into an enormous hole in the ground he swore wasn't there a few seconds ago.

"I hate pigs." Was all he could say when he got up after he hit the ground with a thud. Nothing felt broken, thankfully. He just felt a bit stiff. Evan then got up and took a good long look at his surroundings.

He squeezed his eyes shut and reopened them just to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

Evan was in the forest that looked like the one from his dreams. No, it didn't _look like_ the one from his dream. It _was_ the forest from his dream!

"Oh shit." The forest matched the one from the dream. Same mist, same trees, same eerie stones. All that was missing was-

_Uh-oh._

Evan tried to see if there was any way out, but there was no way he could get out through the hole. The only way out was forward.

With trepidation and fear vying for his resolve, Evan tread carefully through the forest, every move planned and every step as quiet as he could make it. If there was a sleeping dragon, he didn't want to wake it. He was walking for about ten minutes when he saw something that he _definitely_ didn't see from his dream.

Lying on a stump, was an egg.

It was about the size of a soccer ball, and almost a perfect sphere. It was light blue, and gave off an aetherial glow.

Suddenly, Evan felt a mild pain on the back of his right hand, where the symbol was. Hastily, he pulled off the glove, and saw the symbol glowing. He looked at the egg to see the exact same symbol on its hard surface, glowing just as brightly. In awe, Evan brought his hand closer to the egg, barely touching it.

Evan could never quite explain it, but he felt different somehow. The closest thing he could describe the feeling was, _wholeness_. And he knew it had something to do with that egg.


	4. Chapter 3: The Pact

**First of all, thanks for the lovely reviews, as few as they were! I appreciate them!**

**NoxPersona9- Are you trying to flatter me? Because it's working! :) Thank you so much! That means a lot. I'm trying to make the characters and the whole Maple World more realistic than it is in the game. Not that I have anything against the game, of course.**

**wormble3- I'm glad you and your brother like Evan so much! While I'm trying to make him more like the typical, fantasy hero, I also want to let him provide some comic relief, though I hope I didn't make Evan too much of a potty-mouth, LOL.**

**PS: don't either of you worry. I fully intend to finish this story to the end, reviews or no reviews. But DO NOT let that be a sign that says you shouldn't review! Constructive feedback is vital to a writer's development and it's what keeps a story going!**

CHAPTER 3: THE PACT

Evan's parents were at the market and Utah was probably shirking his job of feeding the pigs and hiding somewhere. The thought brought a grin to the teen's face. Utah prided himself with being a master at concealing himself, over the years becoming quite creative with his hiding spots.

Evan, not hiding, was in his room, observing the mysterious egg he found.

Evan now spent most of his time just staring at the egg sitting in the incubator. It had taken a lot of convincing, begging, and arguing, but Evan's parents finally managed to let him keep the egg, provided that Evan and _only_ Evan would take care of whatever hatched, and that he be responsible for it. They were more lenient with Evan getting pets, because ever since he was young, he'd find injured animals and take them in for a while until they fully healed.

It was about a week since he found the egg. Evan would sometimes go to the lush forest and try to find the place he found the egg, but he couldn't. It simply wasn't there anymore. It was as if the hole and the eerie forest had just vanished from existence.

Aside from staring at the egg, Evan would think about the dream. He had forgotten most of it now, but he remembered some kind of pact, someone returning, and of course, the dragon. How could he ever forget that?

Evan's deep thoughts were interrupted by the egg beginning to shake. Excitedly, Evan focused all attention on it. The egg then started cracking.

_The egg's HATCHING!_

Thousands of questions ran through Evan's mind. What would hatch from the egg? Would it be friendly? What would it look like? Will it call him 'mama'?

Evan had been preparing for this ever since he brought the egg home. He remembered his mother's words. "_The chick needs to stay inside the yolk for three days. They'll eat the yolk, and then you'll have to feed them yourself._" While this was probably not a baby chick, it was as close as he could get. "_After that, make sure they have a fresh supply of food and water all the time._"

While he wasn't sure that this was a chicken's egg, but he figured that whatever came out of this egg would have similar needs. According to his mother, it could take several hours.

Contrary to everything Evan heard about hatching eggs, the egg shattered in an instant. Out from the goo and yolk came what appeared to be a lizard, about the size of a kitten. Its scaly skin was baby blue, with a whitish underbelly. Its arms and legs were short and stubby. It had a short tail, a small snout, drooping ears, and short, stubby golden horns on the back of its head.

This was sure as hell no chicken.

"**The outside world is a lot better than what I imagined.**" Evan heard a voice in his mind, but he somehow knew it was coming from the lizard. The poor farmboy just looked at the lizard dumbfounded.

"**Are you my master? Huh. I imagined you differently.**"

"Holy crap!" Evan exclaimed. "You TALK!"

"**You're a strange human. Oh well. Guess I'm stuck with you. Hi. Nice to meet you. We'll be seeing a lot of each other now.**"

"Wait, what? What do you mean?"

"**What do you mean, 'what do you mean?' You woke me up! You helped me hatch. And most importantly, we made the Spirit Pact!**"

"Slow down, boy, or girl." Evan sighed. "So many questions, I'll start with, what are you?"

"**What am I?**" The lizard seemed offended. "**Don't you know a dragon when you see one, pally? Yeesh, you'd think that the human you bonded your soul with would be a little smarter! And for your information, I'm a boy.**"

"You're a dragon?"

"**You got it, bud. Now, what's your next question?**"

"Okay, uh…what do you mean when you say I'm your master?" The dragon immediately perked up.

"**I was waiting for you to get to that one! See, we've made the Spirit Pact. Essentially, we've merged our spirits into one. You can't change your mind about the Pact, by the way. It's done. Never to be broken.**"

"Wait a sec," Evan said, bewildered. "You're saying I have no choice but to help you?"

"**Yeah. What's with the face? You don't wanna be my master?**"

"Oh no, no. I'm honored and all, but I don't think I'm ready for that. For a pet." In all honesty, Evan was expecting to find the egg's mother before it hatched, not to _be_ the creature's surrogate mother.

"**PET?! How DARE you! I am a DRAGON! The mightiest being in the world! Hear me roar and tremble!**" The newborn dragon tried to roar, but all that came out was something sounding like someone with a sore throat trying to roar.

"Yeah, I'm petrified," Evan laughed. He was beginning to like this dragon. "Oh, I have another question, what's your name? Or do you not have one yet?"

"**We dragons are born knowing our names. My name is Mir. And you are?**"

"Evan."

"**Well, Evan, I think it's time I show just what I can do. Is there a devious enemy or fearsome monster we can slay or anything?**"

"But you were just born a few seconds ago. How can you defeat, well _anything_?"

"**You underestimate me Evan. Dragons are born with the knowledge of our kind. It's these natural instincts that make use as powerful as we are. Just take me to an enemy, and let me work my magic!**"

"Uhhh" _Think. Enemy, enemy, enemy, oh! _"There've been some foxes trying to take our chickens lately. Maybe you can take them down."

"**Great!**" Mir, with grace and agility that no one would ever expect from a newborn creature, climbed onto Evan's shirt and onto his shoulder.

"**Let's kick some fox butt! Uh, foxes have butts, right?**"

"Uhhh, yeah."

"**Then let's kick some fox butt!**"

Evan walked outside, with an enthusiastic Mir on his shoulder. They went towards the chicken coups, where they heard loud clucking. Four very large foxes were waiting outside the coup, a hungry look in their black, beady eyes.

"**Watch, and learn, bud.**" Mir opened his tiny maw, and out of his mouth came several bolts of blue energy that hit all the foxes at once. The poor little creatures were flung back about three feet before they even saw the baby dragon and its master.

"Whoa. That was awesome." Evan said with awe and wonder. He had to admit, the newborn dragon had some skill.

"**Yeah, I know.**" Mir threw his snout in the air cockily. "**And you get to use my skills as often as you want! We have the same spirit now, so you can just ****_will_**** me to blast. How awesome is that?**"

"Pretty awesome," Evan grinned.

The dragon groaned a bit. "**I'm getting hungry. What have we got to eat?**"

"Uh, I don't know, what do dragons eat?"

"**I may have some instincts that guide me after I'm born, but I don't know everything! Come on, Evan! This is your part of the bargain! You're my master, so you have to take care of me!**"

"Okay, you're a baby, so maybe I should feed you milk."

"**Milk? What's milk? Is it tasty?**"

"It's what babies eat."

"**Then lay it on me!**"

The new Dragon Master walked over to the milk cow. She had cost over a year's worth of the farm's income. A fair price, since the cow gave the farm a lot of hearty, healthy milk.

"**That thing's a bit creepy. I'm not scared, of course! Just saying.**"

"That's the thing that'll get you your food." Evan knelt down to put the pail under the cow and milk her. When the pail was half full, Evan pulled the pail closer to him, picked up Mir, laid him next to the pail, and tipped the pail just enough so that Mir could reach the milk.

"**You're feeding me water? Well, if you say so.**" Mir took a test sip, and before they both knew it, Mir was gulping down the whole pail. "**Wow, this stuff is really good! What was it called? Milk? Well it really hits the spot!**" Evan smiled.

"**I can already feel myself get stronger! That means you'll get stronger too! The pact and all that.**"

"Right," Evan said. "How did I end up in this pact anyway? Last time I checked, I never signed up for something like this. Not that this isn't great, though. I just don't know why it happened."

"**I don't know exactly. All I remember before hatching was you and me in the forest. That interaction made the Spirit Pact happen.**"

"Wait, that was YOU in that forest? You were that huge dragon?"

"**Glad to see you remember. Bud, you should have seen the look on your face! Priceless!**" Mir was letting loose a bunch or snorts that sounded almost like a dog. If dragons could laugh, then Mir was doing just that.

"Ha ha ha." Evan said sarcastically. "But what exactly does the Spirit Pact do?"

"**Like I said, our spirits have become one! As you get stronger, so do I! Vice versa.**"

"This all sounds like a big deal." Evan said, overwhelmed.

"**Of course it's a big deal! You're a Dragon Master! Our souls are one! You have access to my powers, and you can now use magic! How are you no-**"

"Wait, _magic_? I can use _magic_?"

"**Yeah! That mark on your hand? It lets you use magic. Give it a try!**"

Hesitantly, Evan removed his glove. He stared at the symbol on his right hand. It hadn't changed since the morning he found it. Could something so simple really allow him to use magic?

Evan had always dreamed of becoming an accomplished mage. A hero in the stories he'd love to listen to when he was a little kid. If he could, he'd someday go to Ellinia and study with the mages there. But he was a simple farmboy, and his family was just scraping by. His family needed him to stay here and help around the farm, so any ideas of leaving were out of the question.

From the little he did know about magic, Evan had heard that accumulating magical power would take years to accomplish, and learning how to use it would take additional years.

_Ah, what the hell_.

Evan held out his hand and put all his focus into the mark. It began to glow with power. The mark didn't hurt, but he could definitely feel power accumulating. A ball of pulsing blue energy formed, floating just above the palm of his hand. Mir looked at the boy, nodding in approval.

"**See? I can use my instincts to teach you how to cast spells! We'll be unstoppable!**" Evan chuckled at Mir's enthusiasm. He was beginning to like the idea of being a Dragon Master. And he knew that his adventure was just beginning.

"I could get used to this." The Dragon Master said with a grin.

**Don't forget to review, pretty please!**


	5. Chapter 4: The Holy Mage

**I'm sorry to say that Evan won't be seen for a few chapters. But a lot happens in this one, plus, it's filled with Luminous/Lania fluff, not to mention some angsty romance!**

**wormble3- I'm glad you like my story this much! I've got HUGE plans for this! And trust me when I say that I have NO issue with you reviewing every chapter! ;)**

**Skyedrift- I know, Evan was my first character when I played Maplestory! Concerning the couples, Evan, currently, is fourteen, but I plan to make a few years go by in future chapters. Basically, the Heroes are going to be (or at least appear to be) in their late teens or early twenties. Luminous, being a powerful Holy Mage, is going to appear to stay twenty, and in this chapter Lania is nineteen, but was thirteen when she found Luminous. And don't be shy when it comes to criticism! This is a place where honesty is encouraged!**

CHAPTER 4: THE HOLY MAGE

"You remember everything I said?" Lania asked for the hundredth time.

"Yes, of course." Luminous chuckled. Making the grim mage laugh was never an easy thing to do. "Fresh milk, fishing bait, three servings of pork, and…uh-"

"Thread!" Lania said, laughing. Luminous loved hearing her laugh. It was bright, innocent, and would light up his entire world. "Winter's coming, and I'm gonna need to knit us some socks and scarfs!"

"I keep telling you, I've enduring the harsh, unforgiving winters of El Nath," Luminous said proudly. "The winters here are nothing."

"That's what you said last winter, and you ended up with a cold!" Lania had matured since the day she found Luminous. She had grown several inches, almost reaching Luminous's chin. Her blond hair swept past her shoulders, decorated by a small red ribbon. As always, her blue eyes spoke of defiance and a strong will, aka, stubbornness. A valuable tool in her many verbal jests.

"Alright then, thread. I apologize. Headaches." Luminous had been suffering headaches for a while now.

"Do you want me to scratch the shopping list into your arm?" Penny called from on top of the stairs. Luminous rolled his eyes at the comment. Who knew a talking cat would be so irritating? He knew that she had a heart of gold, but there were some times when Luminous wanted to skin the cat alive.

"Penny, don't be so mean!" Lania called back.

"I got it. Fresh milk, fishing bait, three servings of pork, and thread," Luminous said.

"Great. Bye Penny!"

"Bye guys," Penny meowed.

The Holy Mage and Lania walked out of the cottage hand in hand. Luminous couldn't remember when he had been happier. It had been almost a decade years since Lania had found him, lying in the middle of the forest. While he was fighting alongside the other heroes, Luminous could remember that he had wanted to find the chance to settle down. A simple, peaceful life, surrounded by loved ones. A life like he had before the Black Mage killed his family.

He had once been a humble fisherman living in Coco Island then, until the Black Mage's forces overran the island. They were driven back, but Luminous's family had all been killed.

Not a day went by since then when Luminous didn't swear he heard their screams, their cries for help. By the gods, he could sometimes smell the smoke coming from the burning huts.

Thirsting for vengeance, Luminous sought out the wiseman Grendel. He begged the ancient mage to teach him the secrets of magic to help him avenge his family. Grendel refused to indulge the boy's dark thoughts at first, but after suffering a persistent begging, Grendel relented. But he had some conditions. He would only teach Luminous the secrets of light magic, since it is incorruptible, and only if Luminous put aside his thoughts of vengeance for the greater good.

After four years, Luminous was honed into the perfect weapon against the master of dark magic. He became a master of light magic. He had joined forces with the Dragon Master Freud, the Elf Queen Mercedes, the Warrior Aran, and the Thief Phantom. They were probably the first people since the destruction of his home that Luminous could call friends. He always wondered what happened to them after the battle, and does to this day. Seeing the state of the world as it was, he could only assume that the Black Mage had been defeated.

But now he had a new life. When Lania found the Holy Mage, he found no reason to leave. The girl needed protection, and a talking cat couldn't do much against real danger. Luminous and Lania bonded, the girl's innocence and childish kindness bringing an unfamiliar joy to the Holy Mage's stern heart. As time went on and Lania matured, Luminous found that he was staying with her, less for her protection, and more for the sake of just _being _near her.

Being near his former surrogate little sister, and now his lover.

"The weather's great!" Lania beamed. Luminous smiled at her. Phantom had once joked that if the Holy Mage tried smiling, his face would crack into a thousand pieces. "It's a great day for a picnic, we should have one before the weather comes."

"That sounds lovely. I'll buy some ingredients from the market. I feel like cooking," After Lania had taught him how to cook, the Holy Mage prided himself with this new skill.

"Don't take too long. You always dilly-dally."

"I'll return as swiftly as I can…ugh," Luminous started to feel his headache intensify, as if there was something trying to break its way out of his head.

"Lume?" Lania asked, concern turning into fear. "What's wrong? You don't look so-" She gasped suddenly as an aura of darkness began to form around Luminous.

"YAHHHHHHHHHH!" Luminous howled as dark energy erupted from him in all directions. He no longer had any self-control.

Struggling to perceive what was happening, he could feel his consciousness fading, but not before hearing an ominous voice in his head.

One he knew only too well.

"_The darkness you took from me will consume you_."

* * *

Luminous awoke to the smell of smoke, his eyes opening suddenly, and he immediately got up the second he remembered what happened, and guilt, shame, and horror filled his heart.

"What have I done?" Luminous looked to see the trees surrounding him torn down, burnt, the cottage burning, and Lania lying on the ground, unconscious.

"LANIA!" The Holy Mage ran over to his love, cradling her head and repeating her name.

"Lania, wake up. Please, wake up!" Luminous could see no visible wounds on her, but he sensed dark power had harmed her. He immediately focused all of his light powers on healing her, nothing else in his mind other than saving the woman he loved.

"Lume?" Lania asked weakly. Her eyes opened groggily. Luminous rested his cheek on her temple and held her close.

"You're going to be alright, Lania. Just stay with me."

"Wha…What happened?"

What could Luminous say? That he had tried to kill her? "There…was a…monster…but it's gone now," He didn't want to worry her, not while she was hurt.

"Where's Penny?"

Luminous had forgotten all about that ridiculous cat. "I don't know. We'll find her. Just hold on. You're going to be alright." Luminous kissed Lania's forehead as continued to hold her, trying to take his mind off of what had happened.

* * *

"So, what are you saying?" Lania asked. She was wrapped in a blanket, shivering despite the humid climate. Luminous had used his magic to rebuild the house, and they had found Penny hiding in a nearby tree, uninjured, but shaken. It took a lot of convincing to get her to come down, though.

"I'm cursed," Luminous said. "I didn't realize what the Black Mage did to me after I defeated him. Not until now. He imbued me with a portion of his dark power. I don't know how I managed to avoid this darkness for so long, though." That was a lie. Such darkness could only be activated with the presence of the Black Mage, which only meant one thing.

The Black Mage was returning.

"So, what do we do?" Lania asked, gripping Luminous's hand. "Is there a cure?"

"None that I know of," Luminous said. "This power is working against me. It's unpredictable." He sighed. He knew what he had to do, but that didn't mean he liked it one bit.

"I need to leave."

Those four words dropped on Lania like a bomb. She hadn't been expecting them, nor willing to believe them.

"No…" Lania shook her head fervently. "No, no! You don't have to go!"

"I have to," Luminous said.

"No, n-" Lania began to break down in sobs. Impulsively, Luminous took the sobbing Lania in his arms. He couldn't bear to see her like this, and it pained him to know that he was the cause of her tears.

But he could never live with himself if he was the cause of Lania's death. He knew he had to leave, for her safety.

"I…I don't care what curse the Black Mage put on you!" Lania said fiercely, despite her tears. "I still love you! Cursed or not! I don't want you to go!"

Luminous pulled away and gently caressed the face of the woman he grew to love. Memories flashed in his mind, how he first awoke in her small cottage, how she had smiled radiantly when he had caught her a fish, how she had grown from that wonderful girl to the beautiful woman he loved now, and would love until he drew his last breath.

"Lania, listen to me." Luminous said firmly. "If you ever came to harm by my doing, then I would never forgive myself. But if you died because of me, then I would never live with myself. Please, let me do this. I've lost too many people I care about, I cannot to lose you." Luminous couldn't remember the last time he had cried, but he swore he felt something warm and wet run down his cheek.

Lania struggled to contain her sobs. Her whole life, she had tried to be strong, like the heroes in the stories she listened to when she was small. She couldn't be selfish. It was hard, oh so hard, but she had to do this for Luminous.

"Promise me that we will see each other again," Lania said, teeth gritted, from both frustration and sadness. "Curse or no curse. PROMISE ME."

"I promise."

Luminous gave Lania one last kiss. His kiss was soft and gentle, but Lania kissed him with desperation, wishing that this moment would never stop like they would always have to.

**So how did you guys like my backstory for Luminous? Hope you liked it!**


	6. Chapter 5: The Elf Queen

**Here's the next chapter! It's short, but it's important! It's the one where Mercedes comes in!**

**wormble3- I'm glad you like the backstory! However, I just learned about Luminous's real backstory conveniently AFTER I posted this chapter! Don't worry, I'll tie in Luminous's real backstory with my own somehow!**

**Guest- I've got BIG plans for this story, mark my words!**

**Guest- Why thank you!**

**Skyedrift- I'm glad you like it. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to write an effective Luminous/Lania at first! To answer your questions, Luminous ages SLOWER than normal people, so he will appear to stay young for a long time. And Lania is nineteen, when Evan in future chapters is going to be eighteen. But I've said too much, and I don't want to give out too many spoilers! You'll just have to read like everyone else! ;)**

CHAPTER 5: THE ELF QUEEN

Legends spoke of a marvelous elven city. Said to be the capital of the elven nation back when the elves and faeries ruled Victoria Island. The city of Elluel. Home to the Tree of Life, or the Yggdrasil as it was called in the ancient days. The tree from where the gods made the Sidhe, the first elven tribe. The leader of the Sidhe, Lord Alfar, united all the elves and fairies in the time of great crisis and chaos. All of elven royalty were descended from him.

For thousands of years, the Line of Alfar ruled an age of peace, prosperity, and benevolence. Not a single being under their rule lived in fear or in chains. Until the ruthless Emperor, Sharen II, king of the nation of Ereve, began a campaign to conquer the known world. A powerful mage, Sharen conquered all in his path, slaughtering all who opposed him, and silencing all who spoke against him. The Elven Nation that ruled Victoria Island fought valiantly, but their valor was not enough against Sharen's ambition.

The elves were forced to retreat to the capital of Elluel. Sharen spared them, but not out of mercy, more so desire for praise and worship. Sharen forced them to follow his ways, destroying their culture. Since then, the relation between elves and humans was forever soiled. The cruel emperor's name became a curse among the elven people. Sharen was feared, if not downright hated by his subjects. But as powerful as he might be, he was human, and even he had to succumb to old age, and eventually death. His son, Sharen III, was a much more benevolent ruler. He helped those who had been damaged by his father's conquest, the elves included, repair their homes and restore their culture.

Ever since Sharen III's reign, the city of Elluel had prospered, until the day when it mysteriously disappeared. Adventurers and explorers searched high and low around Victoria Island to find the vanished elven capital, but no trace of Elluel had been found. Scholars and historians could only guess what happened to the city. Some say that it was torn apart by the Black Mage's army, not even any ruins left. Some say it was devoured by a gargantuan monster or a demon. Some thought it was transported to another world. Some doubt whether it existed at all.

No one could ever be sure, and for hundreds of years, the city of Elluel was never seen again.

Until one day. It appeared out of nowhere.

In the center of the royal chamber, lay a young woman, unconscious, and clearly elven, from her pointed ears and great beauty. Over a white blouse, she wore an armored vest, pauldrons, bracers, boots, and an armored belt, all white and decorated with gold. Her long blond hair was the color of wheat fields. She wore a green laurel on her head, signifying someone of high status among elves. She wore gold earrings with blue gems, showing that she came from great wealth. Sheathed at her sides were twin crossbows, decorated with flower petals and gems at the lath.

Opening her aquamarine eyes, she sat upright, and then quickly took a battle stance, taking out her crossbows and scanning the area. Though she was a bit stiff and tired, she stood proud and upright. From the way she stood, one could easily guess that she was of regality.

And one would be able to believe that she was the queen of the elves.

Mercedes turned around, taking in her surroundings. The royal chamber was no different than when she had fallen asleep in the ice.

_Wait…_

She then remembered why she was asleep in the first place.

_My people…_

She hurried out of the chamber, and when she saw the state of Elluel, her eyes overflowed with horror. All her people were incased in the same ice that held her prisoner for…how long? How much time had even passed?

Mercedes gasped in horror as she saw elven citizens, children included, frozen in ice. There were some who were frozen as if they were just taking a casual stroll through the streets. There were children who were holding hands with their mother or father. For some, it had happened less quickly. There were some who wore horrorstruck expressions on their faces, about to back away when the ice took them as well. There were some children who were in tears, hugging their parents. A single tear of pity, regret, and loathing dropped from Mercedes' eyes.

All of this happened so quickly. The elves had no time to defend themselves.

She rushed over to the Yggr Tree, ancient runes glowing at its trunk. She saw that the Elders were still incased in ice. Their expressions were more peaceful, more accepting of their fate. Mercedes remembered how she saw them all get frozen as they did what they could to help her protect what was left of Elluel. The city had been sealed off to keep the curse from spreading over the world. The sealing spell had been a success, but it didn't save Elluel.

If only she could have saved her people.

The Elf Queen gritted her teeth in anger. _A thousand curses on the Black Mage._

Mercedes didn't understand. Why was she freed while her people were still frozen? What had happened? Anger flooded through the queen as she howled in rage, for her waking up and not her people.

_Calm down, Mercedes. Calm down. Think._ She had to control herself. She remembered her friend Athena's words. _A leader without self-control is not a leader at all._

_Okay_, Mercedes though. _Let's think about what we know. If the rest of Elluel is still frozen, then the Black Mage must be as well. But if I have awoken, then the Black Mage's seal must be weakening._

_No_. That only meant one thing.

The Black Mage was returning.

The Black Mage, when he was being sealed, he cast a curse on all the Heroes and the people of Elluel, hoping the curse would spread to the rest of the Maple World. A final act of revenge. The curse must be linked to the seal, so that must be why she has awoken. Does that mean the others had woken too?

She needed to get help. From the Fairy Mages of Orbis, or from the Empress-or whoever held the throne of Ereve. The elves of Elluel had many friends. Mercedes usually didn't accept help from others, but in this case, for her people, she could make an exception.

"I'll be back soon, my people." Mercedes promised to the frozen elves of Elluel. She jogged over to the entrance of the city, crossbows at the ready, with the barrier that once sealed the cursed city of elves from the rest of the world, gone. She went through the white stone gateway that led into an enormous cave, filled with waterfalls, small pools, and plants supported by the sunlight coming from the small holes at the roof of the cave. There was an entire world that was merely the threshold connecting one land and another.

Mercedes smiled. Though the clearing Elluel was built in, and the cave that marked its entrance was beautiful enough for one to say that it was artificial, it was definitely not. The cave was a gift from nature, a force that elves and fairies had lived alongside, rather than tried to control, like humans had. And that is why they were as strong as they were and why their kind would last forever. They had the forces of nature on their side.

Proceeding along the grassy path, Mercedes saw someone she hadn't thought she'd see, here of all places. Clothed in white, he wielded a staff tipped at each end with golden stars. She didn't remember him having one red eye, but she would know that grim expression and white hair anywhere.

"Hello Mercedes."

"Luminous."

"It's been a while."


	7. Chapter 6: The Thief

**Here is the next chapter! I bet you can guess why it's called "The Thief" ;)**

**Skyedrift- Thanks! Don't worry about the World Tree stuff and all that! I plan to work it in somehow! And I'm glad you like the history I made for the elves! As I've said, I'm a nut for fantasy!**

**wormble3- I'm glad you like the way I portray Mercedes. I'm trying to make her into the ideal strong woman. And I just loooooovvvvve making cliffhangers, sorry about that though!**

CHAPTER 6: THE THIEF

Evan and Mir walked through the streets of Kerning City, the passersby not knowing that the odd looking lizard walking alongside the eighteen year old boy was a living, breathing dragon. The young dragon had changed a little over the four years. When he first hatched, Mir was the size of a kitten. Now he was as big as a small pony. The horns on his head were longer, and talons had grown on his paws. His wings were about half as long as his body, but still too small for actual flight. Since Mir had become too big to rest on his master's shoulder, he had begun to walk by his master's side. Evan often wondered if he could ever ride on Mir when he grows large enough, though he never brought up the subject.

Despite his growth, Mir complained that he would grow much faster if they could leave the farm and fight monsters. All he got to fight were foxes, wild pigs, and the occasional bear. But Evan was pretty insistent on the fact that he had to help his parents around the farm. Although their lack of any real monsters didn't mean that their experience didn't grow. Mir was now able to shoot small gouts of fire and bolts of electricity. He eventually dropped his appetite for milk, and went on to hunting prey, like foxes, young deer, crows, and wild pigs.

Passing off the dragon as a lizard was far easier than he thought. It seems that there are so few dragons around these days that simply few people believe they're looking at one.

Evan had changed a bit as well. He was now proud to say that he was taller than Utah, which was the bane of the older sibling. His brown hair was longer, almost shoulder length. He was a bit bulkier, but still lean muscled. He now walked with an air of confidence and maturity that made him seem older than he really was. His magic had advanced, now being able to shoot bolts of energy, fire, ice, and electricity. Another ability he found was healing. He and Mir had once found a limping buck in the woods. Evan had never tried it before, but he figured that he should at least try to heal the creature. He was glad his first time was a success. Mir was glad too. The buck was too big for him to eat anyway.

No one ever gave a second glance at Evan and Mir, since teenagers always had strange pets, like pandas, yetis, elephants, monkeys, robots, wolves, even lizards bred to look just like dragons. The only attention Mir got from humans besides his master was an occasional pet by Evan's parents (only his parents, Utah was scared out of his mind of Mir though he was too proud to admit it), children coming to pet him and tell him how adorable he was (how humiliating), and old folks giving him treats (that all made pig crap taste good, not that he'd know of course).

"**I hoped we don't run into any kids today. They make me feel like I'm in a petting zoo!**"

"_Don't worry._" Evan said to Mir telepathically. "_We only need to buy some pig feed and sell milk. We'll be back by nightfall._" Being in a Spirit Pact, the dragon and his master could communicate with their minds. It was an ability Evan found a few weeks after Mir hatched. Mir could telepathically speak with anyone, but only Evan could do so with him.

"**Cool. Hey, maybe if we're lucky, we'll run into some monsters to slay! We'll finally have some action!**" Evan chuckled.

"_We just need to go to the market, not to the jungles of Ossyria._"

"**Killjoy.**"

"_Hey, I want adventure just as much as you, Mir. But we likely won't find it in Henesys._"

* * *

In the sky, about a mile from Henesys, was a massive airship. This was not an airship of traditional design. Its body was made of white metal, the front and the figurehead made of wood. The sides of the hull were decorated each with a golden crescent moon surrounding large rubies. This was a ship that belonged only in stories, with mystical powers whose origins were a legend.

The Lumiere.

Simply seeing the flying beauty was something few could say they have done. And seeing the owner of the vessel was done by even fewer. A nameless thief feared by the rich, known only as the Phantom. It was said that he had disappeared hundreds of years ago, after helping the other Heroes defeat the Black Mage. Some say he died in the battle, some say he went into hiding, some even say he committed suicide.

Phantom never really was one for rumors.

In the captain's cabin, sitting on a throne he had stolen from a fierce warlord, was the legend himself. No older than twenty, he wore expensive clothing that spoke of his great wealth. He had a belt with the same crescent moon symbol on his ship. The Phantom's trademark hat was on his head, decorated with gems, peacock feathers, and had a visor in the shape of a beak. His blond hair just touched his jawline, his pale face bearing violet eyes that reeked of the mischief of a scoundrel.

Or a scoundrel turned Hero, as he once called himself.

"May I ask, sir, why are we going to this particular part of Victoria Island? There are much more places that aren't such an eyesore," Said his butler Gaston. After Phantom had awoke from his curse, he looked from someone who would be his ship's manservant without any complaints and would keep quiet about his boss's work. Gaston, who heard stories about Phantom and had idolized the Thief since he was a child, was only too eager to sign up.

"Call it, 'thief's intuition', my friend. My gut's telling me to come here." Phantom would never have come this far if he hadn't followed his gut. However, he knew that wasn't the case. The Skaia, the legendary crown jewel of Ereve, had led him here. Scholars claim that it was destroyed the night the Black Mage led the attack on Ereve, and killed Empress Aria. But in truth, as the dead Empress lay on the holy beast Shinsoo, Phantom took the jewel from her, at Shinsoo's request, too keep it safe. He kept it on his person at all times, around his neck, under his coat.

Legend had it that the Transcendences, the gods of the Maples World, who were pleased with the reign of Emperor Sharen III, bestowed upon him the Skaia, the gem that would glow in the hands of his descendants and would lead its holder to their destiny.

For a moment, Phantom considered the bitter, cruel irony of all of this. He had put months of careful planning into stealing the crown jewel of Ereve. He studied every room, hallway, garden, and balcony of the castle. He would charm the Empress into telling him where it was. He thought that would be the easy part, since charming a woman to the point of their swooning came of no difficulty to him. But one thing he hadn't anticipated was how strong willed the Empress truly was.

Every night, he went and tried to charm her. And every night, she resisted. She kept the calm, collected visage of the Empress, and refused to give him the Skaia. Although Phantom grew frustrated, he soon found that he started going less for the crown jewel of Ereve and more for its owner.

Aria was the first woman Phantom ever had true feelings for. And likely the last. And her death was the reason he now possessed the Skaia. Something he would have killed to obtain in the past was now something he would gladly give up if it meant seeing her one last time.

Phantom would have dwelled more on the painful irony, but he heard an explosion coming from the ground below. He and Gaston rushed onto deck. Phantom went to the right side, and whipped out a spyglass. He saw what used to be a farm getting burned to the ground. There were people in black uniforms around the wreckage. Some laughing, some arguing, and some looking for something.

Or someone.

He could feel the Skaia vibrate. It _wanted_ him to go there.

"Watch the ship for me, Gaston."

"Where are you going, sir?"

"Those gentles down there, I'm going to show them the error of their ways." Phantom smiled deviously before disappearing in a puff of cards.

Gaston took out his own spyglass and looked keenly at the scene.

"Oh, this is going to be good."

**Another cliffhanger! Oh I'm terrible!**


	8. Chapter 7: The Black Wings

**I think you'll like this chapter! It's the one where Phantom, Evan, Mercedes, and Luminous all meet!**

**NoxPersona9- you flatter me sir! :)**

**wormble3- don't worry, the Heroes will come to the rescue!**

CHAPTER 7: THE BLACK WINGS

Lotus kicked the burnt bits of wood that once made up the cottage. He took a good, long look around, seeing if there was anything he and his minions had missed. They had slaughtered the farm owner, his wife, and all the animals. A cruel grin crept upon his face when he remembered dismembering the stupid bull dog. But there was no sign of the Dragon Master.

Arkarium had said that he would be in a farm in Henesys. It took him years, but the Sorcerer was able to sense the presence of an Onyx Dragon that was growing in power. If they could kill just one of the Five Heroes, then the Black Mage's return would be definite. He was barely defeated last time with five. There would be no way only four could take him down.

"Did you find the Dragon Master?" Said the voice of his twin sister, Orchid. They both shared the same platinum blond hair and violet eyes.

"No. I guess Arkarium was wrong about him being here."

"I wouldn't say that to his face, brother. Come on, let's search some more. He won't be pleased if we come back empty handed." Arkarium wanted the head of the Onyx Dragon. His for dragons was well known among the Black Wings.

They were about to search the remains of the chicken coop one more time, until they heard the screaming of their minions nearby. The siblings rushed over to the source of the noise, when they saw six of their soldiers frozen solid. Next to the new ice statues, was a young boy about eighteen, his right hand glowing with power, and a dragon-like lizard the size of a pony by his side.

"Gotcha." Lotus and Orchid said in unison.

* * *

Evan could not process it all.

His entire home was burnt to the ground.

His world was in ruins.

His family might be dead.

The only thing keeping Evan from breaking down on the spot was the possibility that his parents and Utah still being alive. An iron-strong resolve was what kept him going. He held onto that hope for dear life. He had to take these soldiers down. He didn't like the idea of killing. Mir freezing them solid had almost made his retch and vomit in the sheer horror of what they had done. He just wanted to save some lives dear to him, not take someone else's

But he had to keep his cool if there was any hope of saving his family.

Standing just a few feet from him were two people dressed in black uniforms. One man, one woman, both looking at him with cruel glee in their violet eyes.

"Gotcha." They both said.

They made a motion towards Evan, who was about to fling a spell at them, as Mir was getting ready to make a new set of ice sculptures.

_BOOOOOM_

Suddenly, an explosion of white light sent the two uniformed people flying several feet away. Evan and Mir looked to see a man in white robes with a staff and a woman in white and golden armor with twin crossbows.

"When did they get here?" The white robed man asked Evan sternly.

"What?" Evan asked, bewildered. Who were these people? Were they with these soldiers?

"The Black Wings! When did they get here?" The man spoke directly, with little emotion in his voice.

"I don't know! I just got here!"

"They came looking for you." The woman said. Upon closer inspection, Evan noticed that she had pointed ears. Ears like an…_elf_?

_Wait a second. _"Who are you people?" Evan asked. "Are you with them? The Black…er, whatever?"

"The Black Wings," Said the woman. She immediately pointed her crossbow on Evan's right side, and fired. Evan looked at his right, to see one of the soldiers who was about to behead the Dragon Master, with a glowing arrow in his throat. "And no, we aren't with them. They serve the Black Mage. They came here to kill you."

"What?" Evan asked, horrified. All this happened because of _him_? The thought of his family possibly being dead…_no. Don't think like that_. "Why do they want to kill me? I didn't do anything."

"They want to kill you because you're a Dragon Master," Said the white robed man with his ever stoic voice.

"Please, you gotta help me. My parents, my brother…they might still be here-"

Evan was interrupted by gunshots. He turned to see the two uniformed man and woman coming towards them with guns. The elf woman fired several arrows, but they were dodged. The white robed man instantly disappeared in a flash of white light, only to reappear right next to them. He swung staff at them, which they dodged by just a hair length, and the woman swung a cane that came out of nowhere at the man's head, which was blocked by his staff.

The elf woman immediately rushed to the fight with crossbows at the ready. Mir, only too eager for some action, followed, forcing Evan to follow as well. Before they could engage, the uniformed woman's cane glowed purple at the tip, and shot an explosion of energy that sent Evan, Mir, the white robed man, and the elf woman flying away in the opposite direction.

Evan landed on the ground, his vision slightly blurred. When it cleared, he saw the woman pulling out a device, pushing a button, and a blue portal formed just a few feet from them. The woman motioned for the man to come, and they both headed towards it.

The woman went through first. Just before the man could go through, in a flash of what looked to be _playing cards_, his hands and feet were instantly bound, and he was gagged at the mouth. He stumbled to the ground, giving a muffled cry as the portal closed. Coming from behind the bound man, was another man, clad in the white clothes of a noble, bearing a cane, and wearing the strangest hat Evan had ever seen. He held a deck of glowing playing cards in his hand. A mischievous smile formed on his face when he saw the elf woman and the white robed man gaping at him.

"It's considered improper etiquette, my friends, to begin a party before all the guests have arrived."

"Phantom!" The two said together.

"Miss me?"

* * *

Evan took his precious time while he processed it all.

Apparently, the white robed man was the legendary Holy Mage Luminous, the elf woman was the famed Elf Queen Mercedes, the strange man was the master Thief Phantom, and the soldiers that destroyed his home was a cult/organization dedicated to resurrecting the Black Mage.

A strange dream, he could handle without question.

A tattoo mysteriously appearing on his hand one morning? Not a problem.

Raising a dragon and merging your spirit with it? He handled it better than he thought he would.

The legendary Heroes saving you from a bloodthirsty cult that may or may not have killed your family, and want to destroy the world? Are you fucking serious?

The man that Phantom had captured was a commander of the Black Wings, a man named Lotus. The woman he was with was his twin sister, Orchid. They were both commanders of the Black Mage's army when he was alive. They thought about interrogating him, but Evan was pretty insistent on them finding his family first. So they tied Lotus to a tree, and left Luminous to babysit him. They had searched the wreckage of what used to be his home, but so far, nothing. No mom, no dad, no Utah.

Evan's thoughts were interrupted by Phantom nudging him gently with his cane. In the first hour he had known the thief, he was one irritating bastard.

"Wha-" Evan was about to say, but Phantom hastily shushed him. The thief pointed to a large tree.

"Listen." Said Phantom. Evan listened closely, and he heard what sounded like whimpering.

Before Evan could react, Mercedes pointed her crossbows to the tree, and shouted, "Show yourself, fiend!" Mir readied himself.

But what came out from behind the tree was no fiend.

What came out was a young boy, who looked almost like Evan, except older, a bit shorter, with his eyes and cheeks red from crying.

"UTAH!" Evan cried. He rushed over to his sobbing brother and hugged him tightly. He could feel that his brother was shivering in fear.

"E-E-Ev-" Utah was still so shocked, he could hardly speak.

"It's alright, Utah. It's alright. You're safe. They're gone. All gone." Utah was still shaking.

"Th-than-" Utah pulled away, as if to say something. All he said was a mixture of sobbed words that made no sense, and his head was buried in his younger brother's shoulder.

"KILLED THEM!" Utah finally screamed. "KILLED THEM ALL"

"WHAT?!" Evan shouted. He pushed Utah away. "They _killed_ them?"

Utah nodded, more tears coming out. "They…mom…da-" Utah sobbed. "I JUST RAN! I ju…I…AH!" Utah hugged Evan again, images of the slaughter going through his mind, and his little brother the only anchor he had to reality.

Evan, who just instinctively hugged his brother back, was overwhelmed.

His parents were just _murdered_.

They were gone.

Dead.

_No. No, this can't be happening. Please, this can't be happening!_

Tears began to form in Evan's eyes as the two brothers mourned together.


	9. Chapter 8: The Demon

**So here's the next chapter guys! I think that you can guess which character I'm adding to my story if you read the title! ;)**

**wormble3- I know! I didn't want to kill off Evan's parents, but I had to give him the incentive to go and fight the Black Mage!**

CHAPTER 8: THE DEMON

The Von Leon Castle was grand, Orchid had to admit, but there had always a sinister air around it since Von Leon joined forces with the Black Mage. Barnabas Von Leon was a tyrant in the old days, when he was king of El Nath. He taxed the people to starvation to better his military and image to the other rulers of the Maple World. The power of the Von Leon line had always been a well-kept secret from the people, for they feared revolt if the people knew their leaders dabbled in dark magic.

When Von Leon joined the Black Mage's army, that fear was made a reality. He lost all control over his village, except his elite guards and a portion of his army. Those few that remained slaughtered any and all who tried to rebel. And they were forced to do in death what they refused to in life; serve him. They became an army of ghosts that had no choice but to bow to the tyrant's every whim.

After the Black Mage was entombed in his prison, his commanders that remained went with him, and so did their armies. When they awoke, they reorganized at Von Leon's castle, and were able to quickly set up several bases throughout the Maple World, but the main base of operations was in the former king's castle. Orchid sneered when she thought of Von Leon. Right now, the old geezer was probably in his throne room having his claws sharpened or his feet massaged. The bastard loved to live in excess.

Orchid walked hesitantly into the large room of the castle's interior, and towards the towering master of dark magic. Arkarium wore black robes, a purple crystal ball pulsating with energy was held in his left hand, and a black metal staff in the other. There was a purple cobra coiled around his neck, head resting on the sorcerer's shoulders. Arkarium's chalk white face was like a flap of skin draped over bone.

Arkarium's snake was not a natural snake. It was a Daemon, a creation a dark magic. A piece of the sorcerer's soul enhanced by the darkest of magics, and infused into a dead snake. Its lesser form alone was dangerous enough. The Daemon was as fast as lightning, and a small squirt of its venom would condemn you to a horrible and excruciatingly painful death.

Although her brother was never much help, Orchid was always glad to be with him in moments like this. She'd go back and search for him, but Arkarium was expecting a report, and soon. She had failed to kill the Dragon Master. The Sorcerer was famous for being the most authoritarian commander of the Black Mage, not to mention he frightened Orchid. He not only held a higher position than her, but his eerie calmness would intimidate anyone twenty feet of him. She knew that the Sorcerer would not be pleased that Orchid had failed. But she hoped to pacify him with the knowledge of three other Heroes, the Holy Mage, the Elf Queen, and the Phantom.

"Orchid, you are usually accompanied by your half-witted brother," The withered man said with a sneer. "I do love the look on his face when I yell at him. Priceless."

"Commander Arkarium," Orchid made an awkward bow to the Black Mage's senior commander. "Lotus has failed to come through the portal, sir."

"Eh, no matter. What of the Dragon Master? Have you his dragon's head?"

"Uh…" Orchid struggled to keep her composure. "No, commander."

"Ah." Arkarium shrugged as if hearing about unpleasant weather. "So, what you are saying, is that you have failed, to follow your duty."

"Sir-"

"Orchid, my dear, do you remember what happens to those who fail to follow their orders _exactly_? Do you remember what I do to them?" Orchid wasn't sure if it was rhetorical, but luckily the sorcerer continued. "_Never_ forget your place, child. You may be one of the Great One's commanders, but you are still a tool. And do you know what happens to tools that are dulled? Hm?" Arkarium stepped closer to Orchid as his cobra raised its head dangerously close to Orchid's face and hissed. "They are _disposed of_."

Orchid struggled, but, somehow, managed to keep her cold, collected mask.

"Sir, I have information regarding three of the other Heroes." Arkarium raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing. Orchid continued. "I have seen Luminous, Mercedes, and Phantom. They came to the Dragon Master's aid."

For a long time, the sorcerer was silent. "Are you sure of this?"

Orchid nodded. "Yes, sir. I don't know of Aran, though."

The sorcerer's beady eyes lost themselves in deep thought, formulating a plan. He knew he could find Aran. He had an assassin kill her father after she joined the Heroes and take a dagger that was crusted with his blood. Such a talisman could be used to locate any blood relatives. In this case, his daughter. As for the others, they were formidable when together, but if all of them were united, they were unbeatable. That was the blessing that Shinsoo bestowed upon them. Arkarium knew he had to kill at least one Hero. Then their defeat would be ensured.

"Did you succeed in killing any and all who lived in the Dragon Master's home?" Arkarium asked suddenly.

"Yes sir. We killed a man and a woman, presumably his parents."

_Excellent. That'll leave the boy broken._ "Send word to Hilla, that we must accelerate the plan." Orchid made another bow before leaving. "Oh, and I'd advise you to not fail your orders a second time. You know how I'm always running out of subjects for my experiments, and I suspect you don't want to be a part of them. Correct?"

Orchid held back a shiver. The sorcerer was always coming up with experiments concerning magic, not only to make discoveries and stoke his craving for pain and suffering, but to instill fear in those around him. Not that she complain against it, it was the cause of their most powerful weapons, but he was always using prisoners as test subjects. "Yes sir." She said in an ever so gracious tone.

"Good. Now run along."

Orchid hastily left the room, in search for the messenger.

* * *

In a Black Wing base in the town of Edelstein, two Black Wing thugs were guarding what appeared to be a giant egg hooked up to a machine.

"What the hell is this thing?" One of the burly Black Wing guards asked the other, who shrugged.

"Dunno. Boss said it collects energy. Said it could, 'bring the Great One back', or something. Might quicken his return."

"How? It's just an egg." The guard was about to tap the egg with his foot, but was surprised to see that it shook slightly on its own before he could touch it.

"Whoa! You see that?"

"What?"

"The thing just moved!"

"It _moved_? Really?"

"Yeah!"

"What have you been smoking? I keep telling you that stuff ain't good for-"

The dim-witted banter ended with the egg shattering. Some would expect something innocent or adorable coming out of the egg.

What came out was neither.

It was a man, tall and imposing, with violet hair, dead pale skin, and bloodred eyes. He was dressed in black leather gentleman's cloths, but didn't look anything like someone who went to social gatherings and sipped wine among nobles. In his hand was a mace larger than an infant, and looked that it could bash someone's head in with ease. Huge, ominous, black bat wings came from his back. His eyes held the coldness and ferocity of a warrior that had fought many battles, and won them all.

"Th-this can't be happening!" One guard said, filled with fear.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!?" The egg-man looked absolutely horrifying. His words seemed to cause ripples in the air around him. Rage filled his eyes and a sizzling aura crackled around him as one guard wet himself.

The other, more level-headed guard, lifted his rifle to the man's head. "Settle down, ugly. We're gonna need to take you for questioning."

"YOU DARE ATTACK ME!?" Before the guards, formed a black circle, and out of the circle came a huge, clawed hand made of darkness, that ripped apart the guards in seconds. The monster laughed with cruel glee as his enemies' innards fell on the floor with a satisfying plop. The Demon enjoyed the sight. Violence, cruelty, and hate were what fueled his power.

The Demon turned to the machine that had wires attached to his egg. That must be what they used to siphon off his power. The machine was grabbed by the dark hand, and was absorbed into it. He breathed heartily and his mace crackled with energy as he felt his power return to its maximum level. He saw his surroundings. He was in a vast cave, enormous stalactites pointing down at him, and holes in the ceiling of the roof. At impossible speed, the Demon's wings carried him through the hole and out of the cave.

He had heard the conversation the guards were having. The Black Mage was returning. The Demon could feel it in his gut. The dark powers he was imbued with by his former master were stirring.

He knew the place he would strike next. The home of an old friend.

_Mother…Damien…I swear to you that the Black Mage will pay for what he's done._

The Demon would make sure of that.


	10. Chapter 9: The Destiny

**I think you'll like this chapter! It provides a bit of comic relief!**

**wormble3- you're going to have to wait to see where the Demon comes into play! And I always hated Arkarium, so I wanted to make him into a guy you love to hate. I'm glad you're so dedicated to this story!**

CHAPTER 9: THE DESTINY

Phantom, Mercedes, Evan, and Utah went back to Luminous after the brothers were done grieving. The Thief and the Elf Queen had just stood there awkwardly, not exactly knowing what to do. Phantom was not good with all the sentimental, emotional stuff, and Mercedes, as sympathetic as she was, wasn't sure what to do either. She felt like she was intruding on their personal moments.

Utah was still in shock and refused to let go of his brother's hand, for he was afraid he would lose Evan along with his parents. Mir, who saw Evan over the years more as a friend than a master, gently nudged the Dragon Master's free hand and nuzzled his side as a sign of affection.

When they reached Luminous, they saw the Holy Mage giving merciless punches to Lotus, still tied up and lying on the ground.

"I will ask you only one more time," Luminous's voice was dangerously calm after he delivered punch after devastating punch to Lotus's gut. "Where is your base?"

Lotus only laughed at the Holy Mage's angry expression. Apparently the Black Mage was so deceptive, many of his followers actually believed his teachings, rather than follow him out of fear.

"You'll get nothing out of me, you bastard!" Lotus sneered. "Doesn't matter if you do! The Maple World is practically his already! We're gonna take this world and you with it!"

Luminous readied his fist for another punch, but Phantom put a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Let me handle this. As you know, I can be quite…creative, in my methods."

Luminous grudgingly lowered his fist and gave one last dirty look at the Black Wings officer.

"Alright, friend," Phantom said with a deceivingly friendly smile. "I will only give you one last chance. Tell me where your base is, or I'll be forced to torture you."

"Tor-torture- AHAHAHAHA!" Lotus laughed as if he just heard a great joke. "What are you gonna do, _Thief_? Are you gonna beat me? Bleed me to death? Cut my hands off? Well do your worst! My oath to the Great One is stronger than any convoluted torture you can come up with!" That was what they called the Black Mage, for they believed his teachings to be the only way the Maple World could ever know true peace.

Phantom grinned deviously. He said nothing as he plucked a small feather from his hat. He knelt down, pulled off the shoe of a confused Lotus, who began to laugh like nobody's business as the Thief tickled his bare foot.

"HAHAHAHA-STO-HAHAHAHA!"

"Where is your base?" Phantom asked again.

"FU-FUCK YO-HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Lotus's body trashed around, his legs kicking, but was firmly held in place at the foot by Phantom's unnatural grip. The Thief showed no mercy as he tickled the Black Wing official's foot harder.

"HA-HA-PLE-PLEASE-AHAHAHA!" Lotus was now crying from the laughter, close to wetting himself. "AH-I'LL TELL-HAHAHA-YOU! JUST STOP."

Phantom placed the feather back into his hat and smiled smugly. Lotus caught his breath for a few seconds.

"Our base is in Von Leon's castle. It's about guarded by a thousand highly trained Black Wings, not to mention five of the Great One's best commanders." Lotus sneered at the Heroes. "So, you basically have a snowball's chance in hell against _us_."

Evan and Utah knew who Von Leon was. They've heard the stories out of their parents' mouths countless times as children. He was a fierce and tyrannical king, and one of the Black Mage's commanders. According to the legend, he had some kind of dark, magical power at his disposal, but he didn't know what.

Mercedes, Phantom, and Luminous knew fully. Von Leon was possessed by the demon Marbas, giving his unnatural speed, strength, and agility. Not only that, but he could take Marbas's form, a giant, humanoid lion, with poisonous claws and a ground-shaking roar.

"Which of the commanders are at the castle?" Mercedes spoke up, her voice calm and direct. Lotus just sneered at her.

"Go to hell you bi-AHHH!" Lotus's obscenity was cut short by Phantom's feather. _No one_ could talk to the Thief's friends like that except for himself.

"FINE, FINE, FINE!" Lotus screamed. Phantom put the feather back into his hat, and Lotus explained. "Arkarium, Hilla, Orchid, and some new guy. He calls himself 'The Destroyer'. And Von Leon, of course."

They all knew of these generals very well. Arkarium was a Sorcerer who experimented on his prisoners to make weapons of great magical power. He used to the court mage of Ereve, until he started kidnapping beggars and criminals for his experiments. A mad scientist among sorcerers. Hilla was a powerful necromancer who commanded an entire city of undead minions. She was once the chief shaman of Azwan, both loved and respected. Until she was given a tempting deal by the Black Mage, power and eternal youth and beauty in exchange for her allegiance. She was adept in using deceit, manipulation, and charm to get what she wanted. Orchid was the leader of the Black Wings, and Lotus's brother. Smart, savvy, and cunning, she was a formidable foe.

The only commander they didn't know of was this "Destroyer."

"The Destroyer," Luminous said. "Who is he?"

Lotus knew he would have hell to pay for giving the Heroes this information. But he also didn't want to be tickled to death again, so he spilled the beans. "Arkarium got him just before the Great One's fall. Said he was to be his new apprentice. He may be young, but he is _powerful_."

"The other commanders, what about them?" Phantom was the one to ask this question.

"Guwaru's dead, I don't know where Magnus is, and the Great One nicely did away with the Demon."

Guwaru was once a famed warrior of Mu Lung that was said to be so lustful for violence that he was executed for slaughtering his own family. His soul was bound in an artificial body of crystals, and was forced to serve the Black Mage. Magnus was a monster from another realm, one of the legendary Nova, or the Dragon-men. The last one, the Demon, as he was called, for no one knew his real name, was a fierce warrior that commanded many dark powers.

Evan and Utah didn't understand the gravity of such a thing, but the others did. Arkarium commanded magics so dark that they dared not speak of. It would be dangerous advantage to the Black Mage if there were two sorcerers with that kind of power.

"Well," Phantom said, breaking the silence. "I assume you know what this means, my friends? Another grand adventure for the Heroes!" Mercedes rolled her eyes at the Thief.

"Enough with the drama, Phantom," said Mercedes. "We need to get to Von Leon's castle. If we can defeat the commanders, then there'll be no one to lead the Black Wing."

"And no one to follow the Black Mage, making him all the more easier to defeat." Luminous said.

"You still won't defeat the Great One's true purpose-mmmf!" Lotus was immediately gagged by an exasperated Luminous.

"Well, then, what are we waiting for?" Phantom raised his cane, and from the black night sky, came an enormous airship.

"Whoa!" Evan exclaimed. "Is that…?"

"The Lumiere!" Phantom said proudly. "Come on, now, enough chit-chat! Let us go!"

"Wait," Evan said. "What about me? What about Utah?"

"You'll be coming with us, of course!" Phantom said. "Your brother can come too." Utah's head shot up, eyes fearful, but still in too much shock to speak.

"**Yeah! It'll just be the adventure we need!**" Mir said excitedly.

"I-I can't come with you," Evan stammered. He was just a farmboy. Granted, he had a powerful dragon on his side, and he could cast a decent amount of spells, and the offer of an adventure did sound enticing! But he didn't want to kill people, and he definitely didn't want to be in a situation where the entire Maple World's safety hung in the balance.

He was afraid he'd do something wrong.

"Look, I understand that you grieve for your parents, and I'm sorry," Mercedes said, her eyes sympathetic. "But all of this is part of something greater than you could ever imagine. Do you think that it's a coincidence that you are a Dragon Master? No. You were destined for this."

Evan remembered the dream he had all those years ago. How he met the dragon, saying how he was destined.

"Mercedes is right, Evan." Luminous spoke up and pointed to Mir. "He is not just any mere dragon. He is probably the last of the Onyx Dragons. And not just any Onyx Dragon. He is the son of Afrien, their king."

"**Whaaa? I'm the ****_prince_**** of dragons? AWSOME!**" Mir jumped on his hind legs and flapped his wings excitedly.

Mercedes laughed at the little Onyx Dragon. "Do you know what this means, Evan?" She asked. "You are the heir to Freud, the first Dragon Master. You were destined-"

"**Waaaaaaaait a sec, pally,**" Interrupted Mir. "**What do you mean when you said I'm one of the last of my kind?**"

"Well…" Mercedes began. "When Freud and Afrien went against the Black Mage, the other Onyx Dragons made an enemy of him. The Black Mage then tried to well…wipe out your kind."

"Way to put it _gently_, Mercedes." Phantom said sarcastically. The Elf Queen glared at him.

"**My kind's been wiped out?**" Mir's wings immediately drooped, his snout facing down.

"_Come on Mir._" Evan said telepathically. "_It's okay._"

"**NO! IT'S NOT OKAY!**" Mir hissed. "**Your parents are dead! DEAD Evan! And my kind is on the brink of extinction, all because of the Black Mage!**" Evan was taken back on how serious Mir was right now. Usually, the young dragon kept an energetic, carefree, adventurous persona. Now, hate and rage filled the dragon's small eyes as he spoke of avenging his master's parents and his own race.

"**Don't you care about that? Don't you care at ALL about your family?! Are you going to sit around and let this all go unpunished? Or are you going to stop wallowing in your self-doubt, and embrace your destiny?!**"

This hit a soft spot in Evan's heart. Mir was right. The Black Mage needed to be stopped. So did the Black Wing, before they could cause any more destruction like what happened to Evan.

And he thought about his parents. They always taught him and Utah to stand for what they believe in.

"_Always keep your feet planted firmly on the ground, no matter what force tries to move them._"

He wouldn't let that happen. If he had the power to stop something as big as this, then he would damn well use it.

"So," Phantom's obnoxiously toned voice broke the silence. "Will you join us, or what? Do we have you on our team?"

"Yes." Evan said without hesitation. Mir perked up immediately. "We're in."

"Splendid!" Phantom exclaimed. Luminous gave a nod to the young Dragon Master and Mercedes gave an encouraging smile. "Shall we be off, then?"


	11. Chapter 10: The Warrior

**I regret to inform all you readers that I won't be updating for a while. If you recall, I said that some of my chapters were premade, but this is the last one of them. The chapters will be coming a bit slower from now on, but I've been known to be a fast writer! Another thing, final exams are coming up, so I won't be able to write much until this coming Friday.**

**wormble3- I'm glad you found it so funny! I wrote Phantom and Mir to add some comic relief to the Heroes.**

**guest- trust me, I have NO issue with you reviewing several times!**

CHAPTER 10: THE WARRIOR

As four of the five Heroes, Utah, Mir, and the gagged and tied up Lotus dragged by Luminous boarded the Lumiere, the Dragon Master and his brother took in the beauty of the legendary ship.

"Admiring my vessel?" Phantom asked.

"Thi-this is the Lu-Lumiere…" Utah asked shakily.

"Yes, my pride and joy. Stole it from the emperor of Mu Lung. Took weeks of planning. But all worth it in the end." A man dressed in servant's clothing came up to the group with a professional demeanor on his face. "Ah! This is Gaston." The servant bowed his head. "He is my ship's servant. If you need anything, then he will be happy to get it for you. Right my friend?"

"Yes, sir." Gaston looked at the Heroes. "I must say, that it is a privilege to finally meet you all in person, though you may be lacking one from your group."

"Yeah." Evan said. "According to the legend, there were five Heroes. We're missing Aran."

"I haven't been able to find her." Luminous said. "I went to her homeland of El Nath, but she was nowhere to be found."

"I think I can help with that, old boy," Phantom spoke up as he reached beneath his coat and pulled out a brilliant red ruby with an intricate golden band around it.

"By the gods," Mercedes gasped. "Is that…"

"The Skaia? The Crown Jewel of Ereve?" Phantom gave her a wicked smirk. "I believe so, your highness."

"How on earth did you get it? I thought it was destroyed."

"Apparently, it wasn't. After the empress died, Shinsoo gave me the Skaia. To protect it."

Though he never talked about it, the Heroes all knew that Phantom had loved the Empress Aria. Her death was the only reason that he had joined forces against the Black Mage. But he never mentioned that he possessed the Skaia, though. Then again, Phantom never revealed much of anything about his personal life. That was the key to his fame, the fact that so little was known about him.

Phantom held out the Skaia from it chain, and closed his eyes in concentration. The gem then moved, swinging to Phantom's right direction.

"Gaston!" Phantom called out. "Set a course for," Phantom pointed to his right. "Er-that direction! We've got a rendezvous with an old friend! Oh, and take this scum to the brig." He motioned to Lotus.

"Very good, sir," Gaston took Lotus and dragged him away.

"What did that jewel do?" Evan asked.

"The Skaia has the power to point you to your destiny," Luminous answered. "And that's one of its minor powers. Its true power can only be accessed by a true member of the royal family."

"That's right," Phantom spoke up. "I simply used it to point the direction to Aran."

"And it's in a 'that way' direction?" Mercedes asked skeptically.

"That's what it said!" Phantom shrugged innocently, and Mercedes rolled her eyes at the Thief, inadvertently looking at the still-shaken Utah, desperately clinging to his brother. Sympathy filled her, for she knew very well what it was like to have your parents taken away from you.

Her parents, the King and Queen of Elluel, were killed when the commander Magnus led an assault on the elven city. The invasion was thwarted, but at a steep cost; the lives of the King and Queen. Mercedes was the last of the royal bloodline, so she was crowned as Queen of the Elves.

She never thought about it much, for the very thought of the loss of her parents brought her only pain.

Evan saw the sympathy in the Elf Queen's eyes, and nodded gratefully.

But she could have sworn that she saw him blushing.

* * *

The Island of Rien was cold to a point where it could compete with the climate of El Nath. It wasn't a popular place, mostly due to the cold weather. To the uneducated, it was unremarkable and inhospitable. It was home to only the unambitious, fishermen, hunters, and farmers. But according to scholars, it is one of the first places where humans have first settled in the area of Victoria Island.

Deep in the highest point of the snowy mountains, higher than anyone dared to go, was a young woman, lying unconscious on the snow. She had a very deep tan, long white hair done into a ponytail like the female warriors of El Nath would wear their hair, dressed in tribal clothing, wearing a long cloak made from yeti fur. To her right to her lay a polearm, a giant axe with very intricate designs of gold. To her left, also unconscious, was an enormous wolf, the size of a horse. The wolf was pure white, as white as the snow around it. On its muzzle was a symbol similar to the one on her polearm. This was a Werewolf, one of the legendary Spirit Wolves of El Nath.

Suddenly, a holographic image appeared in front of the polearm. It was that of a young man in tribal clothing with an exasperated expression and brutal eyes, which quickly turned to relief as he stretched.

"Ah! Good to get out of that damn axe once in a while!" This was Maha, the soul of an ancient warrior that was bound to the body of a polearm. It had once belonged to the Emperor Sharen II, but was stolen by grave robbers after his death. It was sold to the chieftain of the Wolf-runner tribe in El Nath. The chieftain won many battled with the polearm, until he parted with it when the impoverished huntress Aran saved his son from a yeti. In gratitude, the chieftain gave Maha to Aran, and she had used it to make a name for herself.

"Hey, sleeping beauty, time to get up!" Maha shouted to Aran. She was still out cold, but the wolf woke up instantly. He sat down and wagged its tail at the hologram of Maha.

"Ah, good, wake up Aran for me, will ya?" The wolf instantly began to nudge Aran with his snout, licking her face. Aran blinked, and when she saw the enormous wolf, she instinctively rolled to her right and picked up the polearm. Maha's hologram instantly disappeared.

The wolf whined, confused at his master's hostility. Immediately, Aran got the feeling that this gigantic wolf wasn't her enemy.

_A gigantic wolf is _not my enemy? _Seriously?_

Aran's good sense told her to behead the wolf where it stood. But her instincts told her that the wolf was her friend.

"Trust your instincts, Aran," a voice from nowhere told her.

"Who said that?!" Aran demanded. She looked all around her to try to find the culprit.

"Me, dummy!"

"Who?" Aran was beginning to get pissed. She heard a sigh.

"I'm your friggin polearm!" She looked at the polearm she was holding. Instantly, a flash of images ran through her head.

_A man in tribal clothing glowing gold._

_Aran holding a polearm and leading an army against skeletal warriors._

_Aran riding a giant wolf at lightning fast speeds through a jungle, polearm at the ready as she braced herself for battle._

_Aran fighting alongside an elven woman with twin crossbows, a white-haired man fighting with a staff, a man in fine clothing beating enemies with his cane and throwing playing cards that morphed into weapons, and a man who was beside a great, majestic dragon._

"Those feel familiar, Aran?" Maha's voice broke Aran out of her trance.

She had to admit, that when seeing those images, Aran truly felt that they _were_ her own memories. Still, there was some part of her that told her to be wary of whom to trust.

"Alright," Maha said. "If you still don't believe me, then look behind you, and tell me that doesn't ring a bell."

Aran looked behind her, and gasped. She saw a ship, flying through the air as easily any regular ship would through water.

And it was heading straight towards her.

Readying her polearm, Aran stood her ground, ready for anything that came out of the ship, until she heard the wolf bark happily like it were a puppy awaiting an ear-scratching. She almost forgot that the wolf was there. She carefully watched the wolf's every move, but decided that if it wanted her dead, it would have attacked when her back was turned.

"Long time no see, Aran!" spoke a voice from behind her. She turned to see a man in white clothing holding a cane. Aran was immediately back into her battle stance.

"Who are you?!" She demanded. The man put his hands up in surrender, but the man held a mischievous smirk on his face, and Aran got the impulse to punch him right in the nose.

"Easy, old friend-"

"Old friend?" Aran asked, confused, but her voice still harsh and decisive. "Do I know you?"

"Uh, well, let's see, we fought many battles together, we managed to trap an ancient evil, and oh, yes, we saved each other's arse more times than we can count!"

Aran lowered her polearm, just staring at the man like fish were jumping out of his ears. The smugness began to fade from the man as concern began to make itself clear.

"You truly don't know me?" He asked.

"No," Aran replied. "I…I don't really remember anything."

**So, as I've said, I won't be updating for a while. But the next chapters will be good, I promise. The plot will thicken, and you'll find out who this new commander is, the "Destroyer", as mentioned in the last chapter. I'm kind of disappointed that nobody even asked who this new commander is. Cookies to whoever guesses it!**


	12. Chapter 11: The Castle

**Hi everybody! I'm back with the new chapter, and I'm glad to say that I made it out of final exams alive! Sorry it took longer than I planned to update. I kind of lost the will to write for a while. It won't happen again. About the new Black Mage commander, the Destroyer, s/he will be revealed in the next chapter. The cookies going to the one who guesses who it is has not been eliminated!**

**Guest- actually, the Demon was formerly a commander for the Black Mage, so, no, he isn't the Destroyer. But that's the only hint I'll give!**

**Lyra Melody- yes, the band's finally back together! I'm glad that you like this story.**

**wormble3- it's heartwarming to see such devotion to my story. Thanks! As for this story becoming too complicated, I'm sorry to say I can't promise that. I've got HUGE plans for this story!**

CHAPTER 11: THE CASTLE

The Lumiere floated just above the snow-white clouds of Rien, hiding itself and its new passengers, an amnesiac warrior, a giant wolf, and a sentient polearm from the eyes below.

"So," a concerned Mercedes began. "You don't remember who you are?"

"Well, I do remember my own name, but not much else," Aran said as she scanned through everyone who was in the Lumiere. There was the blond-haired elven woman in armor, the obnoxious man in white who presented himself as Phantom, the stoic man in white robes, and a boy in farmer's clothing who sat beside a dragon. Except for the farmer-boy, everyone looked familiar. They looked the same as the people she had seen in the visions Maha gave her. Aran looked to her left, and saw the white wolf next to her, following the warrior like a lapdog. It was peculiar to her, despite the visions, to have a creature she'd usually be hunting as her faithful companion.

"Well," Aran frowned as the white robed, apathetic looking man, Luminous, as he called himself, began to speak. "Since we are together once more, we must go to Von Leon's castle."

"Who?" Aran asked. The name, like almost everything else she heard today, sounded like she should remember them with clarity, but couldn't.

"One of our oldest foes," Phantom told her. "His castle is being held as the base of operations for the Black Wing, and is heavily fortified with highly trained soldiers." A sardonic smile formed on Phantom's lips. "Apparently, the five of us plan on invading it."

"Alright, so what exactly do _I_ have to do with any of this?" Aran spoke defiantly. "I know I have amnesia, but I _did not_ sign up for this."

"Uh, yeah, you did," Maha spoke up. "I distinctly remember you taking an oath in front of Shinsoo and becoming christened as one of the Five Heroes!"

"Maha's right," Mercedes said sympathetically, with a bit of authority in her voice. "You may not trust us yet, but the Black Mage is returning. We need to stand together if we have any chance against him."

"She's right Aran," Maha's voice was followed by another vision.

_Trees, once green, tall, and thriving, gnarled and twisted as their leaves fell to the ground, dead._

_An aura of darkness rippled through the air, making the grass go brown and the flowers into ashes._

_A figure emerged from the darkness. It was cloaked in a black hooded robe which concealed his face in darkness, save for his eyes glowing like red-hot coals, swimming with cunning, intelligence, evil, and cruel glee. It raised a skeletal hand, and pointed straight at Aran…_

_…blood…_

_…death…_

_…violence…_

_It was everywhere. Villages were burning, people were screaming, and the garbled voices of monsters of grotesque shapes were laughing._

_There was one man, lying on the ground…_

No…

_An old man, with familiar white hair, tanned and wrinkled skin, and warm brown eyes._

No…

_He was bleeding at the gut, rivers of blood escaping from his jagged knife wound._

Please, no…

_He looked calm, ready to accept his fate, and go to the next life._

No, no…

_So, as he felt his life slipping away faster by the second, with his last ounce of breath, he whispered the name of the only thing most dear to him that was still alive…_

No…

_"My daughter,"_

No!

_"Aran…"_

NO!

_The life left the man's eyes as he was finally dead._

Aran gasped as she pulled herself out of her vision. Her face was wetted with sweat, and her eyes were red and bloodshot.

"Are you okay?" Everyone else asked at the same time. Aran's wolf nudged her gently. The Warrior placed her hand on the beast's head to assure that she was fine.

"I've never been better," Aran's brown eyes burned with a fire that the other Heroes had become accustomed to as she remembered exactly who the Black Mage took away from her. "You guys can count me in."

* * *

It was taking about two days so far to reach Von Leon's castle in El Nath. Evan kept complaining why it would take the Lumiere, a ship that was said to be able to fly faster than a hurricane, to take so long to reach El Nath. That earned the Dragon Master a few of Phantom's cards that morphed into irritating flies that didn't know when to give up.

Ordinary playing cards, imbued with fairy magic, he said. But he refused to go into how he knew fairy magic.

Probably one of the most famous things about Phantom was the fact that so little was known about him. Where he came from, his real name, and how he got his power. Luminous was taught secrets by the Wiseman Grendel, which was given to him by Lucia, one of the members of Aurora. Aurora was a secret organization founded by the Transcendence of Light. It was a research team/commando unit blessed by the gods. Mercedes was not just the Queen of the Elves, but a descendant of Lord Alfar. To the Elven people, magic was as easy to learn as walking. Freud was a gifted mage and a brilliant scholar, whose power was only enhanced when he bonded with Afrien. Aran was a skilled hunter before she was given Maha, making her a formidable foe. All this was common knowledge about the Heroes. Only Phantom's past was kept in the shadows.

Evan was currently beside Mir, practicing magic with Luminous while Mercedes, Phantom, Utah, and Aran watched, amused by the look of exasperation on both Evan and Luminous's face.

"Concentrate," Luminous told the boy, who was attempting to cast fireballs and lightning bolts at the Holy Mage's shield. Phantom had found an old staff that he "acquired" on his travels. It was made of wood, with intricately carved runes, tipped with a crystal ball pulsing with energy. "Focus only on your magic. Shut everything else out." Evan knew simple spells that were useful in combat, but Luminous was teaching him how to add more power to his attacks.

"I…think…I…got it…" Evan put all his focus into the staff, channeling his power through it. The staff's tip began to glow, and a flash of lightning shot out of the crystal ball, shattering Luminous's shield and sending the Holy Mage back several feet. Utah's expression changed from amusement to awe, and the rest of the Heroes looked approvingly at Evan.

Luminous got up and glowered at the young Dragon Master, who then became nervous.

"Uh, sorry?" Evan was then surprised to see the Holy Mage smile.

"Sorry? That was excellent! You managed to take down a shield that strong!" Luminous had only ever been a student of the magical arts. He found that it was satisfying to pass his knowledge and experience to someone else.

"**Don't forget that it's our bond that gives you magic**," Mir said haughtily. "**You're welcome, by the way.**"

Suddenly, Mir began to brightly glow golden, the air around him sizzling with power. Evan stood back, wondering what was happening to his friend. The glow began to die down, and in the old Mir's place, was a much bigger, much stronger looking Mir.

"Whoa, Mir," Evan gasped. Mir's horns had grown longer, his wings larger, his claws sharper, and Mir himself was just bigger than a horse. "What happened?"

"Onyx Dragons grow with experience, rather than time," Mercedes said, captivated by the majestic and strong beauty that Mir now held. She turned to Evan "Your practice of magic must have made him grow." Evan smiled back at her, and blushed a bit at her compliment. But Mir stretched his wings and jumped to his hind legs in excitement.

"**Oh yeah!**" Mir whooped and flapped his wings. "**Behold my might!**"

"Little bro," Utah said. "Remind me never to piss you off again." Evan grinned at his brother. It was good to have him back to normal.

"Guys," Phantom spoke up. "If you're finished, you may want to see this."

Everyone looked to the side of the ship, and on a giant, snowy plateau, stood tall a grand, ancient castle. The bricks were an ominous grey, and the walls were high and sturdy, four watchtowers behind the drawbridge and eight tall towers surrounding the tallest one, which held the former king of El Nath.

"Castle Von Leon," Phantom said. "We're here."

**For those of you waiting for real Evan/Mercedes, it'll come up more in the next chapter. Don't forget to review! And if you have any guesses for who the Destroyer is, then by all means, put it in your review! With my other story and my obsession with oneshots, the next updates should take only a week, tops. Until then, cheerio!**


	13. Chapter 12: The Destroyer

**I'm truly sorry for taking so long! Ever since school was out, I lost all sense of time and immersed myself in my own world, and I forgot all about my stories.**

CHAPTER 12: THE DESTROYER

Castle Von Leon was usually placid and quite. The ghosts that were guarding the exterior of the walls usually went on for entire years without raising swords. There was the occasional wolf, deer, or fox that ventured a bit too close to the drawbridge, but the ghosts never faced any serious threat.

That was before the axe-wielding girl riding a wolf came along.

The ghosts saw in the distance a moving white figure, but they only had enough time to sound the alarm before they were ripped to shreds by the giant wolf.

That was exactly what Aran wanted.

The ghosts were no match for her. Most of them were spirits of farmers and peasants who never saw battle.

Aran could feel the blood rushing through her veins, the adrenaline coursing through her body.

She lived for this! To the Warrior, there was nothing more exhilarating than battle.

Her euphoric battle rage was interrupted though, when she heard a war cry not her own.

Aran looked to see a man with batlike wings and a huge mace crushing the ghosts efficiently and mercilessly. When she saw his bloodred eyes, she saw the intense and raw bloodlust in them. It wasn't enough for him to simply fight. He had to kill his opponents viciously and violently, and practically bath in its blood.

When the battle ended, after several more waves of ghosts, the two warriors had time to analyze each other.

"You again?" the man asked.

"Do I know you?" Aran asked back.

"Are you dumb?" the man said bluntly. "We have only cross blades in battle more times than I could count."

"Well that probably isn't much," Aran snarled. She didn't like being insulted.

"I am the Demon," the man said in an obvious tone.

"I'm trying to take the castle."

"Well, it seems for once, we have a common goal," the Demon said, almost amused. He held out his hand, as if he wanted her to shake it. "Truce?" His face held no friendliness, only coldness and hardness.

"Truce, but I'm not shaking your hand."

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Evan asked Mercedes for the seventh time. Mercedes rolled her eyes at the Dragon Master's lack of assurance.

"I told you, I've done stealth missions in fortresses much more fortified than this one," Mercedes said, a hint of irritation in her voice.

"Yeah, you probably have, I didn't say you didn't, I'm just saying _I_ never did," Evan said nervously, mounted on Mir's back. Phantom had found an old saddle he stole from the zoo in the Aqua Roads. It pretty much fitted Mir perfectly, and the dragon was only too eager to jump into battle with his new saddle.

"Have confidence, Evan," The Dragon Master slightly blushed as the Elf Queen said his name.

Evan couldn't deny that he liked Mercedes. He just wasn't exactly sure _which kind_ of "like" he was feeling. He wasn't sure if it was just a strong friendship, or something more. He wasn't sure if he genuinely liked her, or whether it was just because she was beautiful, which she was. Evan liked the way her blond hair fell, and how it seemed to glow golden in the right light. Her aquamarine eyes held the stoic calmness of a warrior when she was in battle, but seemed to soften when she wasn't.

Evan didn't have any experience with women and relationships, he was always too busy working on the farm for that. So he had no knowledge to help him in this matter.

"Are you alright?" Mercedes' sweet but stoic voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Huh?" Evan asked dumbly.

"You're staring at me."

"Oh! Uh…" The Dragon Master's face began blushing furiously. "Sorry…uh…" Mercedes kept looking at him, expecting an answer to her question.

_Change the topic! Change the topic!_

"We should get back to the plan," Evan said. Mercedes seemed to buy that.

"Yes. We need to get Von Leon's attention."

There it was again. That fiery glint in those beautiful eyes that made his stomach do flips and his face light on fire.

"Remember, wait for my signal," she told him before taking off, crossbows at the ready.

"**Way to go, prince charming,**" Evan could hear the teasing tone in Mir's telepathic voice.

"_Shut up._"

* * *

One would think that if someone like Phantom would work with someone like Luminous, the two would end up strangling each other to death.

And they'd be right, if the two never met each other and didn't care about the other. Despite Luminous's constant threats and Phantom's annoying comments, they were good friends, and the two made the perfect team. Phantom's cunning, sharp mind, and social skills with Luminous's sensibility, logical mind, and willingness to stay on the task at hand made the two quite formidable.

"Ready?" Luminous asked.

"I am always ready," Phantom said arrogantly. The Holy Mage rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to punch the Thief in the face.

Phantom strolled through the door as if he owned the entire castle, startling the pale, wrinkled heap of maliciousness that was Arkarium.

"What the…what are you…" Phantom had to resist laughing his ass off at the Sorcerer's expression. The hardest part of putting on a good show was to resist the so great urge to laugh at your own theatrics.

"How eloquent!" Phantom said pleasantly. "You always had such a way with words."

The Sorcerer immediately put back on the visage of cruelty and deadness. "You have nerve, Thief, for coming here, but no matter. You'll be dead, soon enough." Arkarium's staff began to pulse with energy, and as he pointed it at Phantom, a purple beam shot out.

Phantom may not have been able to deflect such a beam, nor does he think he would have been able to jump out of the way in time, judging its speed. Luckily, he didn't have to. In a flash of white light, Luminous appeared in front of Phantom, and manifested a shield just in time.

"Prepare yourself, Sorcerer," Luminous said ominously before he and his friend attacked.

* * *

"Going somewhere?"

Aran and the Demon's descent through the castles hallways were interrupted by a smooth, silky voice that came from behind him.

The two turned to see a tall man dressed in all black leather. He had a greatsword sheathed at his back. His face was concealed with a black hood and bandit's mask.

"Yes, in fact we are," Aran spoke. "We're here to take this castle, and take down anyone who tries to stop us. Now move along."

"I'm afraid not," the man waved his hand and all the doors and windows nearby shut with a slam.

"Who are you," the Demon snarled. "To dare challenge _me_?"

"I am the Destroyer," He unsheathed his sword, which crackled with magical energy. "And now, I will become the Demon Slayer*****."

* * *

Though she would never admit it, Mercedes was nervous. Von Leon was adept with a sword, not that he'd use it often. His most potent weapon was his leonine form. Few creatures could stand against him in that form. Even Afrien himself struggled against fighting off the monster.

_But you don't need to fight him,_ she told herself. _You just need to get his attention._

Mercedes crept up the stairway, hardly making a sound. She came to the door she was looking for, the one to the highest room. The room and study of the Lion King himself.

_I could kill him now,_ Mercedes thought to herself. _I could put an arrow in his throat. He won't see it coming. He deserves to die, after everything he did. He oppressed his people, let them die, and enslaved their spirits._

_If anything, he deserves a fate worse than death._

"_Nobody deserves to die._"

Mercedes' eyes closed as her best friend and mentor's voice, Athena Pierce, echoed inside her head.

"_All life is sacred. All life is unique. To take it would probably be the cruelest of acts. Even when done on someone who has killed, killing is still wrong._"

"_Everyone has hopes, dreams, and plans for the future. Everyone has a lifetime of memories. Everyone lives as if they will wake up tomorrow alive. Until someone comes and ends it all. Maybe sometimes it is necessary to end a life to save another. But in the end, you can never deny that you have ended a life. And there is no justification for that._"

The Elf Queen's eyes opened and a single tear rolled on her cheek.

Mercedes never knew what became of Athena after the Black Mage's assault on Elluel. Some of her admirers and friends claim she fled, but some, who were more realistic, say she was torn apart so horribly that her body couldn't be recovered.

She wouldn't kill Von Leon. She owed Athena that much.

Mercedes burst open the door, and briefly saw Von Leon pacing his room. She shot an arrow in his direction, just inches from his face.

She could have killed him if she wanted to. Mercedes never missed.

The Elf Queen was sure she would have loved to see the look on the Lion King's face, but she had no time. She needed Von Leon to come after her.

And judging from the angry and fierce footsteps that followed her, he was.

* * *

Phantom and Luminous were formidable in combat, but they had to admit that Arkarium rivaled the both.

Both the Thief and the Holy Mage teleported across the room to avoid Arkarium's bolts of energy. And they both knew to stay clear of his Daemon, which immediately grew five times in size.

Phantom knew that if they carried on like this for long enough, they would lose the fight. If Von Leon's ghosts weren't busy being re-killed by Aran, they'd come to the commander's aid and make the fight all the harder.

Phantom felt the Skaia vibrate under his clothes. Mercedes was ready!

Now to do his part…

"How did you even get Von Leon to join you?" Phantom shouted at Arkarium. "He never even got involved in any wars."

The Sorcerer sneered. "Perhaps not, or not until he found his wife's corpse with a Seal of the Knights of Ereve on it!"

"You killed her, didn't you? You planted the seal on her so Von Leon would come to you. Join you for vengeance?"

"I did," a hint of glee and pride cross Arkarium's dead features. "It was satisfying to hear her screams and pleas for mercy."

"Once a cowardly liar, always a cowardly liar, I guess," Phantom sneered.

"You already know this, _Thief_?" Arkarium spat like the word was a curse. "Why do you need my confirmation?"

"I don't, but maybe your friend over there does. What do you say to that, Barnabas?"

If Arkarium's face could be any paler, it would, after he saw the full fury of the Lion King.

Barnabas Von Leon was tall, well over six feet, and built like a warrior. His purple-red hair swept past his shoulders, and a touch of stubble was at his lower chin. He wore grand, royal robes that billowed as he walked, as well as armored boots, bracers, a chestplate, and a sword sheathed at his hip. The armor was only a fashion statement, and though he was a master swordsman, he rarely needed it. Not when his teeth and claws could do the job better. His handsome face which was usually filled with smug superiority, was now twisted with rage that made Arkarium flinch.

"I WILL KILL YOU FOR THIS!" Von Leon's voice practically shook the halls of his castle.

* * *

"Don't think I can't defeat you, Demon," The Destroyer said calmly when their blades locked. "I know you,"

The Demon was silent, intent on making this worm pay for speaking to him like that.

"I know you were once human, in appearance and soul. You were once a farmboy. You had a family. The father 'died,' or at least that was what we were told, and you were left alone with your mother and brother."

The rage in the Demon's eyes and the volume of his war cries told of his temper. The Destroyer smiled under his mask.

"I know that 'Demon', isn't even your real name, no. It was _Jacob_." The Demon visibly flinched at hearing a name he hadn't in so long.

"SILENCE!" The Demon growled. "YOU KNOW NOTHING OF ME"

"Still don't realize it, eh?" The Destroyer's face was masked, but the Demon could hear the sneer in his voice. "Fine," the commander said, and in one fluid motion, he took off his mask and hood.

The Demon dropped his mace.

_It can't be…_

He was older, his defined face marred by several scars, and his left eye covered with an eye patch.

_No…_

"_Damien_?" The Demon's voice was shaky, not befitting someone of his reputation.

"Hello brother."

**So it's Damien! Cookies to Lyra Melody, Guest, and Cincuenta Cuentos! I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can.**

*** Nice play on words, huh?**


	14. Chapter 13: The Lion King

**Again, I'm sorry for the long updates. I'm losing track of time. Warning, this chapter has slight gore.**

**Kronkos505- Yeah, I'm kind of getting addicted to writing cliffhangers.**

**JusKIdding- I'm so glad you like this story!**

**wormble3- you'll find out soon, patience my friend.**

**Miacielica- yeah, I didn't know that at the time, and I needed to think of some name, and John-Jacob-Jingleheimer-schmit wouldn't do. Lol.**

**CyanLeaves- no, I forgot to mention that Utah was safe in the Lumiere when the attack took place.**

CHAPTER 13: THE LION KING

"When I get my hands on that stupid son of a bitch, I'll keep his head as a trophy," Lotus muttered as he finally managed to undo his binds.

Lotus went to the deck of the ship, and took a good look at the distance from there to the castle. The Lumiere was above the clouds, safe from all sight. He knew that the Dragon Master's brother, (_what was his name? Arizona? Ah, who cares_) was still on the ship. Lotus knew that the sniveling coward couldn't fight back, even if he tried. Lotus could catch him, cut off his hands, feet, tongue, and eyes, and watch him bleed to death. Slowly. Lotus smirked. He'd then cut off his head and deliver it to the Dragon Master as a gift.

_Ha! That'll teach him to mess with me!_

And make no mistake. Lotus _would_ have done that. He would have made Utah endure a slow, painful, horrifying death, and he would have taken pleasure in hearing his screams.

The only thing that saved Utah's life was the fact that Lotus, like his sister, was extremely impatient, and had no time for simple pleasures while there were more pressing matters to attend to.

Lotus whipped out a small but strong grapple gun from his pocket, and securely fastened the grapple to side of the ship, and dived off the edge of the Lumiere.

* * *

There was a strong silence in the room, as Von Leon and Arkarium stared each other down. If looks could kill, the two commanders would both be dead by now. It was as if the Sorcerer forgot Phantom and Luminous were even there.

Phantom smiled. Things were going exactly according to plan.

Suddenly, there was a great rumbling as Von Leon began to glow with golden energy. He made a hateful sneer at the Sorcerer before the transformation finally took place.

Arkarium was about to learn this the hard way; never piss off a warrior that could turn into a giant, angry leonine monster.

Von Leon's greater form was over twenty feet tall, with golden fur, and a mane the same color as his hair. His body was humanoid, but there was little human aspect to him. His head was that of a savage looking lion, with eyes burning like hot coals, enormous paws with horrifyingly sharp claws, and an iron bracer on his left wrist.

This was the hidden power of the line of Von Leon. They all bore the power of the demon Marbas.

"I think your plan worked a little too well, old man," Phantom muttered.

"My plan?" Luminous whispered loudly. "You're the one who planned everything out! And may I remind you-" The Holy Mage was interrupted by an earthshattering roar from the Lion King.

With cruel glee in the creature's eyes, Von Leon charged.

* * *

"You have a brother?" Aran asked.

The Demon ignored the Warrior as he continued gaping at Damien. He almost didn't recognize his little brother. Aside from the clearly older features, the innocence that was once ever-present on his face, the kindness, the childlike love that could brighten anyone's day, was gone.

Instead, there was only a hunger in his eyes. A hunger for violence. For the blood of his enemies. Damien's face was contorted into cruel madness and inhumanity.

For the Demon, it was like staring into a mirror.

And that was what really tore him apart.

Damien mock gasped. "'Oh dear brother! You're alive?' Ha! You thought for all these years, I was dead!"

"How?" The Demon demanded. Gone was that brief moment of vulnerability, replaced with that cold, brutal visage of the Demon.

Aran just stood there awkwardly. She didn't remember either of these people, but she couldn't help but feel weird, seeing such a personal moment.

"I was out playing in the fields when it all happened," Damien, no, _the Destroyer_, Damien was gone, replaced with this…_monster_. "When I got back, Arkarium found me, crying over the remains of our home. He took me in, and offered to show me the secrets of magic, to gain true power."

"YOU JOINED HIM?!" The Demon's shouting shook the castle halls. "HE DESTROYED OUR HOME, HE KILLED OUR MOTHER, AND YOU BECAME HIS APPRENTICE?"

"He _liberated _me," Damien said smugly. "He cut off my weaknesses. And are you, my dear, sweet brother, really in any place to criticize me? You abandoned us, led us to believe that you were dead! Do you know how many tears mother shed over losing you? How many tears _I_ shed?! You left your own flesh and blood to go on your own pursuits for power!"

"I left to keep you and mother safe!"

"Ha! And I bet all the respect you commanded was nothing more than a fortunate byproduct? Don't flatter yourself, Jacob! You didn't leave for our sake, rather for your own!" A powerful aura began to surround Damien as he readied his sword. "Now fight me _brother_." Damien spat the last word, as if it were a curse. "Fight me and give us both a chance at vengeance."

The Demon hesitated. Did he want to fight his own brother in a battle to the death? Of course not! But then he remembered, this person, this _monster_, was not his brother, rather than his practical murderer.

Not to mention the darkness in him, always thirsting for blood.

So, with a carnal grin and mad glee in both the brothers' eyes, their battle began.

* * *

"So I see you escaped," Orchid said, not bothering to turn around as she sipped her tea.

"That's it?" Lotus said incredulously. "I was kidnapped, brutally tortured, and that's all you have to say?!"

"I know the Heroes, brother dear, and they're far too soft to torture you as "brutally" as you say. The most they probably did was tickle you to spill the beans!" Lotus blushed, but forced his expression to remain impassive.

"Well, despite your lack of sentiment, I'm back. And we need to get to Ereve."

* * *

Von Leon was just inches from making the killing blow.

The blow that would kill the evil heap of bones and flesh that was Arkarium.

Inches from avenging his wife. From avenging himself after he was fooled by the Black Mage for so long.

And he would, were it not for Arkarium's teleport spell.

The Lion King, after he pounced, and was sure that he had crushed the wizened Sorcerer into dust, until he heard the shouting of the Thief and the Holy Mage, whom in his rage, Von Leon almost forgot were there.

"LOOK OUT!"

Von Leon only had time to turn around.

Arkarium, at speed that one would never think to find in a who-knows-how-old, threw his Daemon, which coiled around the Lion King's arm, constricting and breaking several bones in his furry, muscled arm, and sinking its fangs into Von Leon's bicep. He howled in pain, feeling the venom burn its way into his veins like liquid fire.

Luminous was seconds away from blasting a beam of white-hot energy at the serpent, but it vanished in a flash of blue light, along with its master. He and Phantom then proceeded to Von Leon, who was painfully taking back his human form.

Evan and Mercedes rushed from the door, and saw Phantom and Luminous over a dying Von Leon.

"Oh gods," Evan winced at the sight. Von Leon's veins were bulging and turning black, his royal robes were red with blood that came from the eruptions on his flesh caused by the venom, his skin was becoming pale, almost translucent, and the sides of his face were crimson from the blood he was coughing up.

"Arkarium's Daemon," Phantom said. "It bit Leon."

"Can we do anything?"

"This is beyond my healing magic," Luminous said. "He'll be gone in minutes."

"H-h-hero," Von Leon gurgled, trying to be as loud as he could without choking on his own blood. "_Listen_." Everyone fell silent. "Th-they're going to E-Ereve, They plan on taking the throne."

"How?" Mercedes asked.

"Hilla…disguised…she'll use a false…a false Skaia. She'll pretend t-to be true ro-royalty…you have two days…a-avenge…my…Celestine…" Von Leon managed to say the name of his wife before he drew his last breath.


	15. Chapter 14: The Lumiere

**First off, I'd like to give my sincerest apologies for taking so long to update. This has been overdue for a long time. I've just lost a lot of interest in Maplestory, but I'm back now, and I intend to write my silly ass off! This chapter's mainly going to be friendship fluff.**

**Also, I've been working on the first chapter for a Once Upon a Time/Kingdom Hearts Crossver. If you like those two, check it out!**

THE LUMIERE

In all his days of fighting, the Demon never met a foe that he couldn't smash to pieces with his mace. When he swore allegiance to the Black Mage, he was imbued with the darkest of powers, directly from the Black Mage himself. Powers that he used to augment his physical abilities to a superhuman level, powers he'd use to harness the powers of darkness itself to rip his enemies to shreds and leave them rotting in a pile of their own innards. He'd laugh at the look of horror in the eyes of his enemies, who knew exactly what this fiend out of hell could, and would, do to them. There was good reason he was called the Demon. Not only was he a demon in combat, but they'd say that when he killed you as brutally as they said he would, he'd drag your soul to the abyss to drown forever in the horrifying darkness.

He had only ever once lost a fight, and that was against the Black Mage.

Now, it seemed he was about to lose his second fight.

Damien was adept with a sword, as well as being skilled in many areas of dark magic. Amorphous masses of black energy formed around the two warriors, and took the forms of flaring tentacles, hands with razor sharp talons, and serpents with jagged teeth, which all wrestled savagely with each other as the Demon and his brother clashed their weapons. The Demon told Aran to stay out of it, and that this was his fight.

"You can't beat me, brother," Damien sneered as his blade locked with his brother's mace. The Demon sneered back.

"I'm more experienced," The Demon's voice was cold and monotone. "I'm older. I'm smarter."

"Ha! I'm more powerful! More bloodthirsty! I've drank the blood of all my enemies like wine!" Damien shouted. "And my next will be yours!"

_Insolent little whelp._ The Demon thought. He was about to draw his mace back and land a devastating blow, until he looked into green eyes that mirrored his own.

When he was still human, of course.

_"Jakey?" Said an impossibly tiny voice. "Mommy said I can't go play in the woods if you don't come with me."_

_Jacob sighed. Not that he didn't love his brother, but he could be a pain in the ass._

_"Dame, you always want to go in the woods. I keep telling you, you're not going to slay any monsters out there!"_

_"Aw, come on, Jakey! Please?"_

_"No."_

_"Please?"_

_"No."_

_"Pretty pretty please?" Jacob knew his little brother would keep insisting, and he could never deny him anything when his green eyes shone the way they did._

_"Fine, oof!" Jacob exclaimed when Damien tackled him with a quick hug._

When the Demon came to his senses, he was on the ground, with Damien's blade less than an inch from his throat.

"Funny," Damien laughed. "I used to be afraid that you could beat me up when we were both younger. My, how the tables have turned." Damien lifted his sword to deliver the killing blow.

It never came.

Aran was standing over the Demon, blocking Damien's sword with her polearm.

"Hm," Damien scoffed. "You're little pet is no match for me, brother."

"PET?! How dare you!" Aran screamed as she began attacking. Even Damien had to admit, she knew how to use a polearm. He told himself it was just because he was worn out from fighting his brother.

Damien finally managed to get a fair distance away from the Warrior, and cast a bolt of magic at her that made her fly back a few feet. "Well, I think I had enough of battle for one day, but we're not finished, brother." The Destroyer pointed his sword at the Demon. "I _will_ have your blood." Damien disappeared in a flash of blue light.

* * *

The Lumiere was just above the clouds, basking in the sunlight. It had sailed for two days from the now desolate Von Leon's castle, and headed at full steam to Ereve, with a new passenger.

Luminous didn't like one bit that he was in the presence a former Black Wing commander for anything but crushing them to dust. But Phantom was able to convince his friend to at least tolerate the Demon.

Speaking of which, the Demon was mercilessly fighting Phantom in a sparring match, with Utah as their audience. No one let Luminous spar the Demon, because they were worried that because of their past rivalry, that they might actually end up killing one another.

Phantom, who finally had enough, left the deck, leaving Utah with the former commander.

"So," Utah said, trying to start a conversation. "You used to be a Black Mage commander?" The Demon said nothing.

"Uh, oookay. You put up one hell of a fight."

Again, the Demon said nothing.

"You like silence, huh?"

Nothing.

"Okay, if you don't want to talk, that's fine with me." Utah said as he got up and was about to leave to find his brother, the only sane person on this flying boat.

"You talk far too much," said a monotone voice.

"What?"

"You talk far too much," The Demon repeated. But he didn't turn around.

"Fine," Utah said, insulted.

"I didn't say it was a bad thing," The Demon's last comment left Utah all the more confused as he left the deck.

* * *

"Holding up okay?"

Evan looked to see Mercedes.

"Oh, yeah," Mir was sound asleep after a long day of sparring, nestled up in Evan's lap. Mercedes sat down next to Evan, and the look she gave her told him that she knew something was eating the Dragon Master.

"Alright," Evan rolled his eyes. If there was one thing that Evan learned, it's that nothing gets past the Elf Queen. "It's…everything. All this. I never thought having an adventure would be so…so violent! I mean, I want to help people. I'm cool with saving the world. But I don't want to have to kill people to do it. Ah, sorry to whine about this,"

"It's alright Evan," Mercedes said. "I get it. My best friend, my teacher, she told me that it's never easy killing someone. She told me that in cases like yours, it's necessary, and you learn to live with yourself. But the first kills are never easy."

Evan nodded. "It's just, that I always dreamed of being a hero. When I was a kid, I'd pretend to fight monsters, save princesses being held hostage," Evan's eyes bulged when he saw Mercedes's indignant expression. "No offense," he added quickly.

"None taken," Mercedes said, satisfied with Evan's reaction.

"Okay, what I mean to say is, all of this, adventure, save the world and everything, it's a lot…_darker_, than I thought it would be." Evan looked at Mercedes, who was already looking at him, and pretty soon, they found themselves looking at each other's eyes.

They didn't even know how much time passed until they heard someone clear their throat. They looked and saw Utah looking at the Elf Queen and the Dragon Master with his face red as a tomato.

"Am I interrupting?"

"No, no," Mercedes's blush rivaled Utah's, but her expression remained impassive. "I should go spar. I need to hone my skills." She got up and left rather quickly, and when she left the room, Utah looked at Evan with his signature smirk.

"Well, I think my little bro's growing up, and in more ways than one!"

Utah let out a satisfying "YEEEEOOOOWWWWCH!" as Evan sent a small blast of electricity his brother's way.

* * *

Phantom, weary from his sparring match, sought out Luminous for some company and conversation. He found the Holy Mage in the main room, sitting on a chair, but his face seemed to be contorted with pain.

"Luminous?" The Holy Mage jumped a bit when he heard his friend and ally speak his name. "Goodness! Are you well, friend?"

"I'm fine," Luminous said, as if he was speaking to an enemy, not a friend.

"Are you certain? I don't wish to have you jump through the ceiling when you hear your name again, just so you know. That ceiling's too damn expensive-"

"I'm fine," Luminous said again, calmer.

"With the speed we're at and the distance we've gained, we should be at Ereve tomorrow." Phantom said. He knew Luminous was very focused on the quest, and he thought he'd like to hear when they'd reach the capital of the Maple World.

"Good," Luminous said. Phantom nodded.

"Is something troubling you, Luminous?"

"No," said the Holy Mage all too quickly.

"Hm," Phantom wasn't convinced. "My friend, we're comrades in arms. We need to be able to trust each other-"

"The way you trust us by never telling us who you are? Your name? Where you came from?" Luminous snarled. His red eye made him all the more intimidating. "You know all there is to know about us, yet _you_ remain elusive. So until you tell us, don't you _dare_ talk to me about _trust_."

Phantom and Luminous were silent for a moment, until the Thief finally spoke up.

"William."

"Huh?"

"My name," Phantom said. "My original name."

Luminous looked at Phantom, confused. His past was something that the Thief never talked about. He never brought it up. And now of all times, he talked about it?

"My father was a merchant. A wealthy one. My mother," Phantom looked down. "I never knew my mother. But she wasn't normal. She was a fairy." _Of course, Luminous thought. That explains how he is so adept in fairy magic_.

"My father…well, he was a worthless, good for nothing, soddy old bastard," Phantom chuckled darkly. "He never loved me, and the feeling was entirely mutual. So, as you can imagine, I left. When I was twelve, I ran away. My father didn't notice. Probably did the bastard a favor"

"I learned a thing or two while living on the streets. My inherent magic from my mother gave me an advantage over other thieves. I learned to love stealing, especially from the rich." Phantom laughed as a flurry of memories went through his mind. Good times. "And that's where my persona as Phantom came from. So, there. You now know the story of the infamous Phantom."

Luminous chuckled, and Phantom looked at the Holy Mage as if he sprouted another head. Laughter and Luminous went together like the Black Mage and morality.

"My friend, I do not believe I've ever heard you laugh." Luminous only chuckled again.

"First time for everything, Phantom." The Thief raised a brow at his title. "I prefer Phantom. And I only laugh around my friends. The people whom I trust."

**So, Phantom/Luminous friendship and Mercedes/Evan friendship leading to a romance! Damn, I'm good at fluff! Now if you've stuck with the story so far, REVIEW!**


	16. Chapter 15: The Capital

**Oooh, I've been waiting to do this chapter for a long time! It kind of reminds me of something out of Mission Impossible! But, I have to admit, that much of this scene is from the "Phantom's Infiltration" video, just with a few tweaks! I hope you'll enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

**Also, I'm going to be going to Canada, so from now until Monday, I won't be writing. But you all have my word that I will write like the wind when I get back!**

**wormble3- thanks! I hope you're talking about the fluff and not the battle scene though! :D**

**CyanLeaves- yeah, sorry about that. I'm not all that great at writing battle scenes either.**

CHAPTER 15: THE CAPITAL

"These disguises are ridiculous!" Evan hissed under his cloak.

"Be quiet," Aran shushed him, wearing a similar cloak. "We need to wait for Phantom's signal. Then you can bitch and moan all you want." Mercedes, Luminous, and the Demon were all scattered throughout the crowd, all disguised. Utah wasn't in disguise, seeing how he wasn't part of the plan. At his constant wining and insistence, everyone finally let him leave the ship and explore Ereve, and watch his friends stop Hilla. Mir was hiding on the rooftops, since a dragon standing in the crowds would hardly be as discreet as they intended to be, not to mention causing apocalyptic panic.

"Well I hope he hurries up!" Evan whispered. "I can hardly walk in this thing, and it itches like hell!"

"Oh, stop complaining. Compared to what's going to happen, itchy cloaks are the least of our worries." Aran was slowly regaining her memories, now that she was with her old friends again. She remembered growing up in El Nath, her father's injury which led her to become a hunter, saving the chief's son, and much of her life in the Wolf-Runner tribe. But everything was still a blur after she joined the Heroes.

She brushed off any concerns, wanting to focus on the task at hand.

Under normal circumstances, they would take a moment to admire the sheer beauty of the Capital city of the Maple World. Evan had only heard of its pure majesty, but seeing it for himself went beyond all spoken descriptions put together. The lush, grassy valleys went on for miles, disappearing into the distant hills. The marble buildings, stone houses, and streets decorated with archways melded with the environment, creating a practical symbiosis between the city and nature. Magnificent statues of emperors, empresses, and heroic knights of the past ornamented every corner, letting their legend endure for millennia after their deaths. The young Dragon Master could see now why Ereve was called the Crown Jewel of the Maple World.

Evan wanted nothing more than to rub in the faces of all his former bullies and tormentors who all mocked him for his idealism, that he, and not them, saw Ereve itself.

But alas, like Aran said, his personal issues were the least of his problems right now.

* * *

No one paid the cloaked figures any heed. Something else had grabbed the attention of the citizens of Ereve.

Word was, that a nameless woman had one day popped out of nowhere, and declared that she was the true descendant of Aria, and that Cygnus was nothing more than a charlatan. Everyone's initial reaction was that it was ridiculous, and such claims were acts of treason. But she claimed to have solid evidence of her assertions, which they were all dying to see. Whispers echoed throughout the crowd, traveling faster than wildfire.

"_Empress Cygnus a _fake?"

"_Ridiculous!_"

"_Who is this woman?_"

"_She's probably an impostor._"

"_She'll be executed for such treason for sure!_"

They were eager to see the promise of this mystery woman's evidence for her claims though, so they rushed to the palace, not wanting to miss the show.

In front of the palace, where Cygnus would address her people and deliver grand speeches that would give them hope in the worst crisis, stood not the Empress, but the one who claimed the title was rightfully hers. She stood tall and proud, wearing a regal dress, expensive jewelry, and her light brown hair fell onto her shoulders. The Empress stood behind her, surrounded by her loyal knights.

"My people," the woman's deceptively uplifting voice ensnared the attention of the crowd. "How long will we let this _frail child_ play at being our Empress?" She turned and pointed to Cygnus. "_You_," she sneered in disgust, "Are nothing more than a _pretender_ to Aria's throne. And I," she said smugly, "have proof." She lifted up a gleaming red jewel suspended by a golden chain, and the mere sight of it sent gasps and the citizens in the crowd murmured, shock and confusion apparent in their voices.

"The Skaia?"

"Can this be true?"

"Impossible!"

"How can this be?"

The woman smiled. "Yes, my dear people. What you see before you is true! This is the Skaia, the lost jewel of Empress Aria! Do you not see? I am the true heir to Ereve." She made a quick glance at Cygnus, giving a haughty sneer at the Empress, who was struggling to maintain her composure as a mixture of anger, fear, and humiliation made her shake. This nameless woman who came from nowhere was usurping Ereve's throne with nothing but her words.

Cygnus's Knights, still loyal to their Empress as they were when they first took their oath, stood ready to unsheathe their weapons, willing to cut down any and all who dared harm Cygnus. They prepared their battle instinct, which was soon replaced with confusion when a single voice spoke up above the murmurs of the crowd.

"Hold it."

The murmurs and whispers in the crowd immediately ceased, as both Cygnus and the woman looked to the crowd, wondering who the voice belonged to.

"That's a delightful story," the voice said, clearly male, but no one was sure where it was coming from, as it seemed to be projected from all directions. "But I believe you forgot some things."

The woman's brow furrowed with anger and confusion, while Cygnus was just plain frozen and shocked. A few seconds ago, she was in hot water. What on earth was happening now?

"First, there's the bloodline. Empress Aria _had_ no children. Only a niece. The ancestor to our _real_ beloved Empress here. _You_, on the other hand," the voice was now smug with knowingness. "Who claims to be of direct descent, are trying to pass yourself off as something you're not."

The mystery woman seethed with rage and fear as she tried to keep her emotions in balance. "Who dares question me?!" She demanded, but it seemed to lack much conviction.

"Second," the voice continued. "You use the Empress's weakness to question her right to rule." Cygnus gasped as she realized that whomever this voice belonged to, was _not_ her enemy. "Her frailty is proof she's absorbing Shinsoo's power." The crowd was silent enough for everyone to hear a pin drop to the ground.

"And finally," there was a slight dramatic flair in the voice now. "You claim to hold the treasure of Ereve? The legendary gem Skaia? Any _true_ Empress would know that the Skaia you hold is a ruse. A bauble. Dressed up to lure the great Thief Phantom out of hiding."

The woman began looking around with desperation, trying to find the man to whom this voice belonged to, and wanting nothing more than to crush it into dust. "What proof do you have of these lies?!" She shrieked. She, rather than Cygnus, was shaking now, fearing that her plan was nearing ruin.

Which it was.

"How can we believe-" the woman's retort was shortened by a gust of strong wind that blew in all directions, coming from the waves of magic surrounding a man whose features were hidden by his cloak, who appeared behind the woman, who turned around, genuine fear in her eyes.

"Set aside your parlor tricks. The real Skaia is safe," in a single, fluid motion, the man shed his cape, revealing a man clad in white noble clothing, holding a cane, and wearing a devilish smirk on his face. "In the hands, of _Phantom_!"

All woman in the crowds, gazed dreamily at the legendary Thief, seeing that the stories were not so far stretched when they said that Phantom's charming good looks were enough to make any woman who saw him swoon.

Well, any woman, except for the one right in front of him. The look of fear, surprise, and sheer hate on the usurper's face was absolutely _priceless_. So much so that Phantom made a conscious effort not to laugh. He immediately took a mental photograph before resuming his little show.

A card materialized in Phantom's right hand, which he threw at the false Skaia at lightning speed, instantly shattering the gem from its chain. The magics that held the false gem together began to escape from the broken pieces before fading away completely.

"Are we going to keep playing this game?" Phantom asked, his trademark smirk never leaving his face. "_Hilla_?" The woman finally realized her plan was destroyed at mention of her real name.

Five other cloaked figures began to move through the crowds, and toward the front of the palace. They all removed their cloaks at the same time, revealing the Five Heroes of legend, along with the former Black Wing Commander, all of them ready for battle. Mercedes drew her crossbows, ready to put an arrow into Hillia's head. Aran readied her polearm, which shimmered with golden light that came from the spirit possessing it. An aura of holy light began to surround Luminous, sizzling the air around him. Evan, who seemed more than happy to be rid of his disguise, held his staff, and from the rooftops of the town, flew an immense, majestic dragon which Evan leapt on with an almost acrobatic skill. The Demon prepared his mace and his enormous bat wings unfurled from his back.

As his friends came to his side, Phantom's cane began to glow and morph, until it became a double bladed staff. "Why don't you show the good people your _true_ colors?"

"You think you and your merry band of idiots scare _ME_?!" Hilla didn't bother hiding the full extent of her rage anymore. Red light began to surround her as her regal dress changed into tribal clothing, her brown hair changing into blood red, and a jeweled staff appearing in her hand. She smirked as she waved her hand, and twenty or so skeletal warriors appeared at her side.

At this point, the people that haven't already ran away in terror were frozen with fear, wanting to follow in the other people's footsteps, but unable to stop watching the scene as it unfolded.

"Well," Hilla purred. "It's certainly been a while since the entire party's been together. I'm glad that I got to witness the little reunion."

"You won't be so glad when the Black Mage's armies lie in ruin around you, and you put to death for your crimes," Mercedes snarled.

Hilla laughed. "Oh, how cute! The little tyke is acting like a big girl now, eager to follow in the footsteps of your buried mommy and daddy!" The Elf Queen was furious, but did not dignify that with a response.

"All of you," Hilla shouted at the Heroes. "You're exactly like this _worthless_ Empress and _joke_ of a Queen! Puny insects sitting atop high pedestals! You," she pointed at Luminous with her staff. "You're just a pathetic little scum with a few tricks with the light! You were a boy all those centuries ago hell-bent on vengeance, and you're no less of a boy now." Luminous's stoic expression didn't change, refusing to take the bait.

She turned to Aran. "You are no more of an animal like that flea-bitten wolf you ride. You're an uncivilized lout that thinks she's worthy to lead because of a magic axe." Aran simply raised her chin in defiance at the Necromancer's insults.

Hilla continued with the Demon. "You are a brutal savage, too bloodthirsty and violent for your own good! But you had a bright future, Demon. You could have been on the winning side of this war to come. But you threw it all away." She looked genuinely disappointed, but the Demon knew better. She was trying to provoke him. He was around Hilla far too long to associate Hilla with being honest.

"Y_ou_," she sneered at Evan. "You are a helpless whelp that relies on everyone around him to hold his hand! You're nothing more than a child with a few magic tricks and an overgrown lizard!" She turned to the Demon.

"**Did she just say what I think she said?!**" Evan could hear the anger in Mir's telepathic voice. "**SAY THAT AGAIN! SAY IT AGAIN AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS!**"

"Oh my," Hilla mock winced. "Did I hurt the lizard's feelings? Aw, poor baby!"

With a hateful roar, Mir breathed a jet of relentless flames at the Necromancer and her undead bodyguards, wanting nothing more at the moment to destroy the one who dared mock his dignity.

"MIR! STOP!" Evan shouted, trying to calm his friend down. "ENOUGH!" the people in the crowds screamed in horror, mothers covered their children's eyes to keep them from witnessing a death.

When the flames stopped, everyone gasped to see that there was nothing left, except for the charred remains of the skeletal warriors. The Demon nodded in approval, while Evan, Mercedes, Luminous, and Aran were all about to reprimand Mir for his recklessness, when they heard a familiar voice in the crowds.

"Looking for me?" everyone surrounding Hilla immediately moved away from her in terror.

"Don't think that any of you have made a difference here today," Hilla smiled. "You think you've won? The Maple World is already in _his_ hands." In a blur of dark energy, Hilla vanished, the only evidence of her presence were the remains of her undead denizens.

**There it is! As I've said, I won't be able to write anything until Monday. But I'll try to update as much as I can before classes start.**

**Until then, review!**


	17. Chapter 16: The Empress

**I SINCERELY apologize for taking so long. There's no excuse, and it's not fair to everyone who loves this story. I'm going to do everything I can to update as soon as possible, along with my other stories.**

**Okay, since I'm doing this with my other stories, I might as well do the same with this one out of fairness.**

**Good amount of reviews=updates. Lack of reviews=no updates. Comprende?**

**Guest- I'm glad you liked it! I really enjoyed writing it!**

**wormble3- yes, it is isn't it? ;)**

**Pickle the chicken- why thank you!**

**That1aznguy- yup, Damien is the Destroyer!**

CHAPTER 16: THE EMPRESS

"This place hasn't changed a bit!" Phantom grinned. "I was worried that they'd get tired of the old design. Wonderful they decided to keep it like this!"

Mercedes smirked at Phantom's comment, silently agreeing with her friend. The palace of Ereve was no less grand than the last time she was in its halls. Though its designs could never hope to rival that of the elves of course, it was truly magnificent. From the near lifelike murals that told of epic battles and marble walls and pillars that looked like they were carved by the gods themselves. On the side walls, were tapestries that told of Ereve's greatest conquests and legends. Mercedes saw Evan gaping at the one that showed an elven woman, two men in white, and a man beside a great dragon fighting a giant figure cloaked in darkness.

Evan managed to get out of his stupor of awe. But only hardly. "That's-" Evan pointed at the tapestry, hardly able to speak.

"**Yeah, yeah,**" Mir said. "**That's all your buddies fighting off the Black Mage. Enough with the sightseeing, can we get something to eat?**" Evan rolled his eyes at his dragon's wisecracks.

"We have no time for that," Luminous said. "We have more important matters to attend to."

"**More important than food?**" Mir asked. "**I doubt that.**"

"You would," Evan smirked and turned to Mercedes. "He eats like a pig."

"**Do not!**"

"Do too."

"**Dot not!**"

"Do too!"

"**Do not!**"

"Do-"

"Please," Utah whined dramatically. "Can we salvage what's left of my sanity and get this royal shnick out of the-ow!" He rubbed the back of his head after one of the Cygnus Knights wacked it.

"Show the proper respect, _boy_," the knight, said. It lacked malice, but his tone was entirely formal, devoid of any emotion. "Few have the chance to say that they were in the royal palace, let alone in the _same room_ as _Empress Cygnus_ herself!"

"Yeesh…" Utah muttered as he decreased the distance from him and his brother and increase the one from him and the knight.

Some would say that he's taken all this pretty well. Sure, he had nearly lost all sanity when the Black Wings assaulted his home, but he recovered. Actually, no, that's a lie. Sure, outwardly, he was back to his old, piss-ass annoying self, but he could never shake away the screaming he heard when his home was destroyed. He could still hear the screaming of his parents when he closed his eyes to go to sleep…

"Well," Aran announced, breaking Utah from his thoughts, and thankful she did. "Empress Cygnus is waiting for us." Utah couldn't help but agree with the hero. The sooner this was all done, the better.

He wasn't sure exactly what to make of them all. Sure, most of them were pretty cool, but he wasn't sure if he'd be acting the same way around them if they weren't (quite literally) living legends. Phantom was alright. He had a sense of humor that Utah immediately was able to relate with. Plus, he was one of the few who could engage in a friendly banter with the boy and not surrender in frustration. Aside from the feeling that he had to constantly watch his pockets, Phantom was alright.

Luminous, was, well…just plain odd. He was always quiet, and could never take a joke. Utah learned the hard way, when he joked about the Holy Mage's one red eye, and he found that it was a valuable asset in giving death glares. After that, Utah resolved to not talking to Luminous only when necessary.

Mercedes was nice. She was one of the most sympathetic to him and Evan after their home was destroyed, but at the same time, she was clearly the "don't take crap from anyone" kind of girl, and Utah might be tempted to flirt with her, if it wasn't for two reasons. One, she's an elf, and while he has nothing against them, Utah didn't go interspecies. And second, it was painfully obvious that his little brother had a crush on her, and Utah wasn't that cruel. Maybe when things quieted down, he'd give Evan some dating advice.

Aran was fine, Utah guessed. But she was far too serious. Not "serious to the point of smashing anyone who cracks a joke" serious like Luminous, sure, she was capable of smiling, but she focused almost entirely on training and their quest.

The Demon was just plain creepy. While Luminous was able to speak, the Demon was able to go on for entire days without saying a word. He just separated himself from the group, and stared into space, in his own thoughts. Utah once caught the Demon staring intently at him, and continued to do so, until Utah left the deck. Again, plain creepy.

The Cygnus Knights led the Heroes to the Empress's study, and the Empress herself stood up, waiting for her guests.

"Please," she said politely. "Be seated." When they were all seated, Cygnus spoke again. "I owe you all a debt of gratitude. You have averted a horrible catastrophe on Ereve and its people." Utah just looked at the ground sheepishly, doing his best to be invisible.

"It was quite the sight, I must admit, to see the Heroes themselves. I had thought they perished long ago." The Heroes waited for a sarcastic remark from Phantom, but were surprised it hadn't come.

Phantom was uncharacteristically silent during the meeting with Cygnus. Even in the presence of royalty, he was known to crack a joke or two, but he was getting lost in the Empress. She may have not been her direct descendant, Cygnus was descended from Aria's niece, the daughter of her youngest brother, but she was the spitting image of the woman the Thief once loved. Her hair was cut differently, but they shared the same shade of whitish-gold blond, same dazzling blue eyes the color of the ocean, and the same features that only added to her unreal beauty. Phantom wasn't naïve, despite his somewhat childish sense of humor. He knew that he and Aria hardly had a chance together even _if_ she had survived. She would have had to take a husband to secure her line, and she couldn't marry a wanted criminal. Phantom was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't even realize everyone else was still speaking.

"One of them did," Luminous continued, his voice grave. "Freud and Afrien fell. But he chose a successor," he motioned towards Evan and Mir. "They are Evan of Victoria Island, and Mir, Son of Afrien."

"It is an honor," Cygnus said politely.

"Uh…the honor is mine…your majesty," Evan said nervously. Utah would have said one of his trademark obnoxious jokes, if he wasn't as nervous as his little bro. Mir, however,

"I must admit, I thought that the Onyx Dragons were extinct," she said sympathetically, as Mir drooped slightly. "But I have news that may interest you. I have heard rumors, small and quiet whispers, but talk nonetheless, of a colony of dragons in the Nihal Desert. They are nothing like anyone has ever seen before, and some suspect that it may be the last of the Onyx Dragons."

"**Oh gods**!" Mir exclaimed happily. "**I might not be the last one after all! This is great news!**"

Cygnus laughed at the near fully-grown dragon acting like a hatchling. All that did for Evan was smile weakly as he mentally rolled his eyes. "Indeed," she smiled. "And it happens that the Nihal Desert is also where Hilla's stronghold is." Cygnus's voice immediately became serious, as if she was on the edge of a warring battlefield. "As long as she and the other commanders live, the Maple World will not be safe." The Empress now looked grim, knowing what had to be done now. She always tried her best to stay diplomatic and peaceful, but it seems her hands were tied.

She had no choice.

"As of today, we are at war with the Black Wing."

"Well then," everyone was surprised to hear Phantom speak again. "I do believe it's time for us to take the oath."

* * *

The five, or now six, Heroes followed Cygnus as she led them to the Great Temple of Ereve, where the Holy Beast Shinsoo was waiting.

Utah, despite his constant protests, was taken to one of the many guest rooms of the royal palace. He wanted nothing more than to accompany his friends on the journey to the Nihal Desert, but he lacked all combat experience. Cygnus assured Evan that she would look after Utah, and give him room and board in his palace. Evan knew that he wouldn't be seeing his little brother for a while, he and the others would have to leave right after the ceremony, and only high priests, christened warriors, and the Empress herself was allowed in the Great Temple, so the two brothers were forced to say their goodbyes after they left the palace.

The Temple was deep in the forest, its exact location known by only the high priests and the Empress. After about an hour of walking, they all reached a clearing, which was one of the most beautiful things Evan had ever seen.

The grass was lush green, waves forming as the wind blew through them. Patches of multicolored flowers bloomed here and there, vibrant colors of red, purple, yellow, and blue standing out against the light green of the field. Beside a pond so clear, one would think it would be safe to drink from, was a circle of marble pillars, fifteen feet tall and twenty feet in diameter, and in the center, stood the Holy Beasts of Ereve, Shinsoo herself.

"**_Welcome, young ones_**," the voice of Shinsoo echoed through his mind. It was almost like how he communicated with Mir, except from Shinsoo, every word she said sent soothing vibrations through his mind, and suddenly, he was thinking of all his happiest moments, like when he was a kid, playing a game of catch with his father, chasing chickens with his mother, and hugging pigs as if they were pillows with Utah. In his mind, he was reliving everything joyful about his life. From the calm, serene looks on everyone else's faces, Evan could tell they were having the same experience.

"**_You have all come far, you have grown in ways you did not think you could_**," The Holy Beast's eyes hardly opened, and Shinsoo hardly even moved, but everyone could hear her voice inside their heads. Evan wondered if he could spend entire days listening to that voice. "**_But now it is time to put yourselves to the test. The Black Mage is rising, and if he succeeds, he shall be more powerful than ever. He must be stopped while he can. Hilla's fortress must be where we shall strike first. You all have thwarted her plans to take Ereve, and you must strike while she is weak. Four of you have undergone this ritual many centuries ago, but there are two new additions to the Heroes, and you all must become one._**"

"Kneel," the Empress ordered. Each of the Heroes kneeled, and everyone except Evan put their right closed fist on their left shoulder. Evan saw what they did, and copied the suit hastily, causing Cygnus to smirk slightly.

The Empress first came to Mercedes. "Do you, Mercedes, the Elf Queen, so swear to rid the Maple World from all evils, and protect all innocent lives?"

"I so swear," Mercedes said determinedly.

Cygnus moved on to Luminous. "Do you, Luminous, the Holy Mage, so swear to rid the Maples World from all evils, and protect all innocent lives?"

"I so swear," Luminous said, his voice as neural as always.

Then Aran. "Do you, Aran, Warrior of the Wolf Runner Tribe, so swear to rid the Maples World from all evils, and protect all innocent lives?"

"I so swear,"

"Do you, Phantom, Master Thief, so swear to rid the Maples World from all evils, and protect all innocent lives?"

"I so swear," Utah noticed that was probably the first time the Thief ever spoke in a serious tone.

"Do you, Evan," Utah and Evan both perked up at the younger brother's mention. "Dragon Master, and Mir, Prince of the Onyx Dragons, so swear to rid the Maples World from all evils, and protect all innocent lives?"

"We so swear," both Evan and Mir spoke at the same time.

And finally, Cygnus turned to the most unlikely person to be christened as a Hero, the Demon. Of everyone in the room, he seemed to have a disdainful look upon him, as if he was disgusted by the very ground of the palace.

"Do you, Jacob," _What? His name's Jacob?_ He seemed to wince slightly at the name. "the Demon, so swear to rid the Maples World from all evils, and protect all innocent lives?"

The Demon, or Jacob, seemed to hesitate before finally answering, "Yes," Cygnus raised a brow, but wasn't surprised at the Demon not answering "I so swear", like the others. He was her former enemy, and it would take time to get used to each other. But they all needed to band together if they stood a chance against the Black Mage.

As the Demon finished his words, golden light began to glow around the six. Evan would have been shocked, but somehow, he knew that the source of this light was benevolent, and he nor his friends wouldn't be harmed. The Demon however, seemed uncomfortable in the light.

"**_The gods look favorably upon you, and have granted you their blessing._**" Shinsoo spoke. "**_Rise, Heroes of the Maples World, for your time of triumph is yours for the taking._**"


End file.
